MILAN.- The star of the upcoming Milanese selection comes from an important European private collection: Sofa of 1968, a grand Close up by the extremely rare artist Domenico Gnoli.

The work is an oil on canvas of cm 131 x 171, formerly coming from Jan Krugier, Geneve, and well-known due to its exhibition held by the volcanic gallerist Sidney Janis in 1969 in New York. Janis was a real pillar for the development of the best 20th Century European Art on the American market.

The exhibition held in 1969 at Janis gallery was Gnoli’s first show in the USA. Sofa is an indisputable masterpiece by an intellectual, acute, eclectic, hard to “label” artist.

The sofa, depicted in an intelligent renovated post-magrittian style, conveys in its fixity a melancholic and magic aura altogether.

The valuation ranges from 1.500.000 – 2.000.000 EUR.

The front cover of the Milanese catalogue is dedicated to a precious work by Lucio Fontana, an Attesa of 1957, which represents a year of great artistic experimentation and destructive/creative energy of the Milanese master: oil and holes (yellow and black stripes on white background).

It is, thus, one of the very first works of the Attese series, of which Lucio Fontana affirms: “My discovery was the hole(buco ndr)and that’s it. I am happy to go to the grave after such a discovery”.

As a matter of fact, the Buco (hole) became a year later the Taglio (slash)! The canvas has been estimated of 800.000 – 1.200.000 EUR.

The Venice Guggenheim is hosting the much awaited solo exhibition La mia arma contro l’atomica è un filo d’erba. Tancredi. Una retrospettiva. The Milan sale presents a beautiful example of 1953, Senza Titolo by Tancredi, coming from a private collection and which the public had the chance to admire in 1983 at the Rotonda della Besana Museum, Milan.

The work, realized with a mixed technique on canvas (cm 180 x 200), has an estimate of 200.000 – 300.000 EUR.

Dedicated to the friend and painter Leone Minassian – born in Constantinople in 1905 and later resident in Venice – Natura Morta of 1951 by Giorgio Morandi has an appealing estimate of 500.000 – 700.000 EUR.

The magnificent 1958 Angelo Ribelle by Osvaldo Licini belongs to the Angeli Ribelli series, formerly in the well-known Jesi collection in Milan, has been exhibited in the same year at the XXIX International Art Biennial in Venice: the canvas has a valuation of 120.000 – 180.000 EUR.

At the Venice Biennial - this time in 1950 - the pair of ceramics Guerrieri a cavallo by Lucio Fontana were shown; the pendant was realized at Albisola in the same year and recently exposed at the Triennale in Milan.

The two ceramic plates have a diameter of 90 cm and an estimate of 180.000 – 250.000 EUR (each).

The November sale also offers to international collectors an exquisite double-cut of an intense blue by Fontana, Concetto Spaziale, Attese, which has a valuation of 700.000 – 900.000 EUR.

The canvas is in the same collection since the Seventies.

In 2015 the MAXXI Museum in Rome dedicated an interesting exhibition to the studio of architecture Monaco-Luccichenti that focused on the relationship of these renowned Roman architects with the artists who revolved around the bar Rosati and Piazza del Popolo. Among these last ones, Giuseppe Capogrossi became attached to Vincenzo Monaco through a profound friendship. The great Superficie 105 (est. 160.000 – 250.000 EUR), a precious example at the vertex of the artist’s production, comes from Monaco’s collection.

Boccioni 3 is part of the fortunate series of the Futurismo Rivisitato by Mario Schifano It is a 1966 work in enamel and spray on canvas and perspex, shown in 1974 at the foundamental Pilotta’s exhibition in Parma (est. 80.000 – 120.000 EUR) and conserved in the same collection since the Sixties.

By the same artist, other two remarkable works are highlighted in the catalogue: Senza Titolo (Finestra) of 1965 (enamel, graphite and silver paint on canvas; est. 80.000 – 120.000 EUR), shown in 2006 at the Fondazione Marconi, Milan and furthermore a beautiful piece from the series Stelle, Particolare di Oasi, formerly coming from Lucio Amelio’s Modern Art Agency, Naples, 1968: an enamel spray on canvas and perspex, val. 150.000 – 200.000 EUR.

Roman Pop Art is best exemplified by two Tano Festa’s paintings of the Sixties: Cielo newyorkese 1965 (50.000 – 60.000 EUR), exhibited in the same year at the famous La Tartaruga gallery, Rome and Rosso n.35, formerly coming from Arturo Schwartz, Milan, is a 1961 monochrome valued 90.000 – 120.000 EUR.

As the recent The Italian Sale dedicated the cover of the catalogue to a red Plastica by Alberto Burri (sold for 5.185.338 EUR), the Milanese sale is focused on the important cycle of the Cellotex.

Three examples are offered – all coming from the same provenance - three 1982 Cellotex – of cm 100 x 130 – (estimated 350.000 – 450.000 EUR each) and Nero MI n.5, 1989, is an acrylic on pumice stone on plywood, valued 400.000 – 500.000 EUR.

A world record for a Cellotex by Burri was set at Sotheby’s Milan in November 2015, selling for 495.000 EUR.

By Salvatore Scarpitta – who recently set a world record in London – a rare Slitta titled Mirror Sled (Sun Sled) is included in the catalogue; previously in the Mazzotta Collection, Milan; the canvas realized with hockey sticks, gauzes and mixed technique, and shown in Houston in 2001, has an estimate of 80.000 – 120.000 EUR.

Published on the artist’s catalogue raisonné – only 30 examples are registered – the rare and precious Superficie Argento (silver) by Enrico Castellani, a perfect square canvas valuated 320.000 – 480.000 EUR.

Turin and Milan recently devoted two important retrospectives to Carol Rama and Emilio Isgrò. Sotheby’s specialists have selected two interesting works from both artists’ best productions: Spazio anche più che tempo (25.000 – 35.000 EUR) by Carol Rama and Ricamo di Alba by Emilio Isgrò.

Isgrò’s work belongs to the famous Storie Rosse series (est. 40.000 – 60.000 EUR). The painting is dated 1975, just between Emilio Isgrò participation to two editions of the Venice Biennial (1972 and 1978).

Alma (a destra) ricama nel Rosso vestita di rosso is one of the most touching works from the painter and poet’s artistic production.