Galleria Russo presents the exhibition Osvaldo Peruzzi. Futurism, Geometry and Color, curated by Massimo Duranti, dedicated to one of the most original and independent figures of Italian Futurism and Aeropainting—an artist representative of mature Futurism and a deeply self-aware avant-garde vision. Peruzzi participated in the Venice Biennale in 1934, 1938, and 1942; in the Rome Quadriennale in 1935, 1939, 1943, 1955, and 1959; and in traveling Futurist exhibitions across Europe.
The exhibition traces key moments in the artist’s production, from the 1930s to his later work, highlighting the complexity of a poetics grounded in the balance between Futurist dynamism, geometric construction, and chromatic tension, always oriented toward “ultra-terrestrial scenarios.”
The curatorial project emphasizes Peruzzi’s exploration of the synthesis between form and inner perception—a principle articulated in the Manifesto of the Plasticity of Individual Essence (Volterra, August 11, 1941), in which the artist asserts the need to move beyond mere representation in order to grasp the psychological and emotional essence of the subject. Painting thus becomes a space for the visual translation of states of mind, constructed through geometric structures and dynamic chromatic relationships. As Duranti წერს in the catalogue: “Prampolini had long been exploring ‘Cosmic Idealism,’ moving beyond what I have defined as the ‘terrestrial Futurism’ of mechanical dynamism, and also beyond that of the air with Aeropainting. Depero was increasingly engaged in developing advertising and playful mechanics. Dottori was elaborating the so-called ‘new modern landscape,’ as defined by Guido Ballo, softening the boldness of Aeropainting. Peruzzi develops a ‘new figuration of geometric splendor,’ maintaining intact a geometrism founded on full chromatic fields within a palimpsest of images marked by reduced synthetic insistence but an unbroken search for essence—whether of figures or landscapes in compelling narrative contexts.”
Within this framework, Peruzzi assimilates both Dottori’s aeropictorial landscape lessons and Prampolini’s cosmic-idealist approach: “the beauty of flight as elevation toward surprising horizons, where the artist places himself as part of the experience rather than a mere observer. It is an Aeropainting of participation—painting as if immersed in the element of air, becoming one with the principle of flight as spiritual ascent,” notes Baffoni.
Particular emphasis is placed on the theme of the modern city, interpreted as a living, pulsating organism. From Italian urban visions to depictions of the American metropolis (such as Summer Manhattan Twilight, 1943), the city becomes a field of visual experimentation where simultaneity, movement, and aerial perception merge into an original synthesis. The compositions dedicated to skyscrapers and flight testify to Peruzzi’s full engagement with Aeropainting, reinterpreted through a personal language that is both rigorous and lyrical.
The exhibition brings together paintings, works on paper, and documentary materials that shed light on Peruzzi’s artistic and human journey, highlighting his central role within second-generation Futurism and the continuity of his research after World War II—balancing cosmic journeys and flying machines heading toward unknown horizons, while engaging with certain Spatialist suggestions yet remaining faithful to the Futurist legacy.
The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue published by Gangemi Editore, featuring critical essays by Massimo Duranti, Andrea Baffoni, Rachele Chiarelli, and Beatrice Falcione, which analyze the artist’s stylistic evolution and contextualize his work within the history of Futurism and later Italian abstract-geometric developments.
