NEW YORK, NY.- De Buck Gallery announces The Primary Form of Painting by Italian artist Turi Simeti. The exhibition includes black and white works dating from the 1980s to present and is accompanied by a comprehensive catalogue with an essay by curator Elena Forin. The exhibition is on view at the gallery from April 17 to June 8, 2014, with an opening reception on April 24, which the artist is scheduled to attend.

A member of the Italian branch of the international Zero movement alongside such prominent artists as Lucio Fontana and Enrico Castellani, Simeti's work since the 1960s represents a cornerstone of twentieth century Minimalist tenets. Best-known for his recurrent use of the ovale to shape the surface of monochromatic canvases, Turi Simeti has dedicated his half-century long career to exploring variations of graceful arrangements of these geometric forms within solid fields of bold color. Simeti's work embodies the desire of Zero artists worldwide to create a simple, "silent" new kind of art in the years following the tumult of World War II. Simeti's own personal desire to capture a sense of movement through his use of the oval protrusions gives the work an almost sculptural quality by creating unique plays of light and form that hold the power to transform each canvas.

Turi Simeti was born in Alcamo, Sicily in 1929. After moving to Rome in 1962, Simeti became active as an artist upon becoming acquainted with Alberto Burri. In 1965, Simeti's work was included in an exhibition of Zero artists held in Fontana's studio, solidifying him as a valuable member of the group. Since then, his work has been exhibited in galleries and museums worldwide, and is included in public collections such as MAM (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), Museo d'Arte Moderna di Bolzano (Bolzano, Italy), Galleria Civica d'Arte Moderna (Turin, Italy), and Wilhelm-Hack-Museum (Ludwigshafen, Germany). Upcoming exhibitions at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice will honor the global Zero movement, drawing attention to the critical historical importance of Simeti and his fellow artists. Turi Simeti currently lives and works in Milan.