Stars of the Grid:Bice Lazzari @ the Estorick.

"Art is a truth that can change as it comes about; it is a moral commitment that calls for complete dedication to discover new roads and new words" - Bice Lazzari

Untitled (1950)

Oooh! That sounds hi-falutin'! But then I'm sure Beatrice 'Bice' Lazzari said lots of things and having died over forty years ago, in 1981, two days before her 81st birthday, she didn't have any say over which of them the curators of the exhibition Bice Lazzari:Modernist Pioneer at the Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art (a regular haunt of mine) in Canonbury chose for her.

To call her a modernist pioneer though, that doesn't seem too much of a stretch. I must admit I'd not been aware of her work (she's not that well known outside of Italy), or had even heard of her, before the Estorick announced this show but I'm glad I have now, I'm glad I went along. I even celebrated with a bowl of penne arrabiata at the lovely institution that is the Trevi Ristorante on Highbury Corner afterwards.

Continuous Rhythm (1939)

Born in Venice, in 1900, Lazzari, as a woman, was initially advised not to pursue a career in art but, instead, become a designer. Seemingly, a more suitable line of work for a mere woman in that time. Lazzari took that advice though. At least up to a point.

Realistically, she combined design with art and you get the sense that she was more than happy with this decision. Certainly a lot of the work bears it out. Fabrics, scarves, belts, carpets, and bags were also easier to sell than paintings - if you weren't a famous painter - and Lazzari's father had died before her 30th birthday and she needed to put food on the table.

Cushion (1930)

Pathways - Yellow (1953)

As well as, it is written, sustain her lifestyle! Not long after her father's death, Lazzari moved to Rome and began collaborating with other designers and even architects. Except for a brief period in the war, when she moved with her husband Diego Rosa back to Venice and on to Milan (where they worked with Gio Ponti, designer of the Pirelli Tower in Milan), she stayed in Rome for the rest of her life.

Once established as a designer, and after the war, Lazzari was able to focus more fully on the painting and, for me, it is her paintings that are the best part of this exhibition. Though it was interesting to see how she developed the skills used in design when it came to making pure, or fine, art.

White and Black (1954)

Blue Architecture (1955)

Works like White and Black and Blue Architecture look as if they could be 4AD record covers and they fit, seamlessly - and rather beautifully, into the canon of abstract work. They're, quite simply, a delight to look at.

The same could be said for the darker, more ominous looking, Untitled and Green Informel Piece. Lazzari's work here doesn't seem to have any message above being aesthetically pleasing and on that it succeeds easily. Which I am more than happy with.

Handwoven bag and belt (1929)

Untitled (1959)

Green Informel Piece (1958)

Moon Play (1957)

The Happy Fable (1958)

Marine Tale (1956)

Her work, it seems, continued in this vein. It became scratchier, and it became more patchworky (I know that's not a real world but you get the drift), before, later in her life and career it became very gridlike. Almost mathematical.

Lazzari's eyes were failing her but her desire to create remained powerful so we end up with very basic looking works like Oblique Red Line, Acrylic No.527, and White Square No.2 Though they're very simple pieces they seem as if they carry some secret, or arcane, code. In places they look as if they are graphs or music scores.

Oblique Red Line (1979)

Acrylic No.527 (1979)

White Sequence - Acrylic No.4 (1975)

White Square No. 2 (1974)

Untitled (1971)

Rhythm (1967)

Soundtracks (1968)

They're actually quite peculiar and inscrutable and it'd have been nice if the Estorick had backed them up with a bit more information because, though I liked them, I didn't really understand what they meant. 

I'd not had a problem enjoying earlier work purely for how it looks but I felt these later works were so esoteric I needed a key to grasp them. That key was not forthcoming but I left the Estorick curious to learn more about Bice Lazarri as well as being something of a minor, and new, fan of hers.

Untitled (1973)