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Enrico Baj


1924-2003

Bio

Enrico Baj is born in 1924 in Milan, in a well-to-do environment. In Milan, he studies law and follows art education. In 1944, he leaves Italy after a conflict with the authorities because of his anarchist sympathies and to evade conscription.
In 1951, he founds the ‘arte nucleare’ movement, together with Sergio Dangelo and Gianni Bertini. As artists, they oppose the threat of a nuclear war. In Baj’s work, this is initially expressed in paintings that refer to nuclear destruction. Later, Baj makes caricatural collages of generals, composed of ‘objets trouvés’. Around 1960, the movement bleeds to death, but Baj’s work will remain politically motivated throughout his life.
Baj is closely linked to the surrealistic and Dada movement and is later also associated with Cobra. In many of his works, he uses motifs from the work of artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and Picasso, or recreates their work. In addition to collages and sculptures, he produces a great deal of graphic works.
In the years before his death, Baj makes a series of paintings with which he protests against the coming to power of Silvio Berlusconi. At the age of 79, he dies in the northern Italian town of Vergiate.

Portret Baj bij biografie
Enrico Baj, posing before his portrait by Asger Jorn, photographed by Carlo Cisventi in 1954
Werk

Ermengarda

1975
Screenprint with collage on paper
99.2 x 69.7 cm (sheet), 80 x 60 cm (image)