Enrico Sirello, 1974 – Optical Composition with White Modular Forms and Red Horizontal Axis

Enrico Sirello, 1974 – Optical Composition with White Modular Forms and Red Horizontal Axis

Enrico Sirello (Livorno, 1930–2012)

Study for a mural (“Bozzetto per murale”), 1974

Acrylic on panel

35 × 35 cm

Signed, dated and titled on the reverse

Archive number: 05/1266

This work is a preparatory study for a mural created in 1974, belonging to Enrico Sirello’s mature phase within the Italian Arte Programmata movement. The composition is built around a sequence of repeated white modular forms arranged horizontally against a black ground, intersected at the upper edge by a thin red horizontal band that functions as a visual axis.

The repetition of the modules generates a rhythmic progression, while the contrast between black and white produces a subtle optical vibration. The red line acts as a stabilizing yet tension-creating element, guiding the viewer’s gaze across the surface and reinforcing the sense of directional perception. This interaction between form, repetition, and axis reflects Sirello’s research into anisotropic visual effects, where perception shifts according to the direction of observation.

Conceived as a “bozzetto per murale,” the panel was not intended as an autonomous image alone, but as a conceptual and visual test for a larger architectural scale. As in many works from this period, Sirello translated principles drawn from Gestalt psychology into a controlled abstract language, transforming the static surface into an active field of visual experience.

Condition: good original condition, with minor wear consistent with age.

Frame: original simple wooden frame.