Gilberto Zorio

Zorio created his first Canoa in 1984. That piece was formed of an elongated terracotta triangle which was balanced on a crucible. Zorio created this series out of many unconventional materials including: wood, leather, javelins, copper sulphate, hydrochloric acid, and alcohol. Morio's installations have a strong spatial presence, and his canoe has the same aerodynamic feel as the tips of his javelin piece, Stella di giavellotti (Star of javelins). This element is common in his work. Canoa is a real and symbolic piece which suggest fluidity, action, and speed. Zorio uses stars and crucibles in conjunction with his canoes which are associated with sailors and navigation.

Zorio has used text as image throughout his career. He uses many different materials in the creation of these works. Examples of these are in pieces such as: Odio [hate], Confine [border], and Fluidità Radicale [radical fluidity]. Three different versions of Confine were created. In one the word confine was written in incandescent wire and hung in a room. Another version was created by photographer Paolo Mussat Sartor in 1971. Sartor used long exposure to photograph the artist sitting in Sartor studio with the word "confine" written in the air from the smoke of a cigarette. The smoke made it so that the artist could barely be seen. Another version was created by Zorio in 1971 when Zorio wrote "confine" on a gallery wall with luminous ink which was visible only when the lights were off. Every four minutes the lights would turn off for a few seconds to reveal the hidden ink before the lights turned on again.

Per purificare le parole was one of the first of Zorio's large series. This work is intended to be an interactive piece which facilitates the alchemical transformation of spoken language by filtering through alcohol. A long tube of soft hemp was filled with alcohol and attached to a metal frame. The tube was left with two open ends that were raised to the level of a standing persons height. This work becomes interactive when the spectator speaks into one end of the tube. His voice is then filtered, as it runs through the tube, and comes out at the other end of the tube "purified." This work was originally shown at the 1970 "Gennaio '70: Third International Biennial of Young Painting," Bologna. Zorio commented on this work saying, "Alcohol is a mystic liquid. It is also called 'spirits.' It disinfects, burns, inebriates, it transforms and modifies perception." -Gilberto Zorio," 1985.

Zorio participated in the famous exhibition When Attitudes Become Form (1969), organized by Harald Szeemann in Bern. There Zorio presented Torcia, a radical piece where flaming torches, suspended above the ground, fall causing the collapse and destruction of the work itself. In 1969 he also exhibited in Paris for the first time along with New York for the event "Nine at Castelli" where, with Giovanni Anselmo, they were the only European artists, faced with artists of Process Art, Antiform and Post-minimal artists.

Zorio's Scrittura bruciata (Burnt writing) is one of the sculptures which he used as part of a performance, as well as a stand-alone piece. A heated copper plate was placed inside a rectangular wire cage. A sheet of copper was attached to one side of the cage to make a ledge where Zorio placed a sheet of paper and a pen with invisible ink on top of it. Zorio wrote messages on the paper in invisible ink and dropped the page onto the hot plate where the words became visible for a few seconds until the paper burnt up. It was first exhibited at Sonnabend Gallery, Paris, 1969, and was shown later that year as part of the exhibition "Op losse schroeven" at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam.

Since his first exhibition at the Galleria Sperone in Turin in 1967, Gilberto Zorio's work has been linked to the history of Arte Povera. These first productions were strange objects, which were results of completed actions or ones that are still under way. Next came his work involving the action and reaction of the artist's body like in Odio ("hate" in Italian), a word inscribed with an ax in a wall. The role of words and speech is essential in these pieces.

Zorio's Tenda is a work that plays with the laws of physics and chance. Zorio took a green cloth, which was soaked in salt water, draped it over a metal scaffolding, and clamped it in place. The salt water ran through the cloth and onto the ground, where it evaporated, leaving traces of salt on the cloth. This was shown at Sperone gallery, Turin, in Zorio's solo show in 1967. It was shown again in 'Con temp l'azione', in Turin in 1967.

Zorio's early pieces done between 1966 and 1968 concretized energy processes. These works utilized the process of chemical reactions or simple physical actions (such as oxidation, evaporation, refining, or electric transmission). These early works are based on autonomous changes taking place within a given system, or on changes caused by outside intervention (e.g., by the viewer). These events and changes take place within the work occurring at a slow pace, turning the weight and impact of time and the relentless rhythm of nature into something tangible. Energy, both on the physical-chemical and emotional level, is common to all these processes. These concepts can be seen in pieces such as: Rosa-blu-rosa, Tenda, Piombi, Senza titolo, 1967 and Senza titolo, 1968.

Zorio studied at the Scuola di arte e di ceramica (School of Arts and Ceramics) and then the Academy of Fine Arts in Turin (1963-1970). Zorio originally studied painting, but he soon moved on to sculpture and had his first solo show of three-dimensional works in 1967 at the Galleria Sperone, Turin. He continued to live there and teach after he graduated.

Gilberto Zorio (born 1944 in Andorno Micca) is an Italian artist associated with the Italian Arte Povera movement. Zorio's artwork shows his fascination with natural processes, alchemical transformation, and the release of energy. His sculptures, paintings, and performances are often read as metaphors for revolutionary human action, transformation, and creativity. He is known for his use of materials including: incandescent electric light tubes, steel, pitch, motifs, and processes through the use of evaporation and oxidation. He also creates precarious installations using fragile materials such as Stella di Bronzo and Acidi within his work.