Superficie blu

The rigorously monochrome surface is raised at all four sides by symmetrically arranged nails placed at equal distances left and right, above and below, so that the canvas juts out from the frame. The movement thus induced, or suggested, is accentuated at the centre of the work, where the peaks and troughs alternate with systematic regularity.
The work is one of many by Castellani where the single constant thought that unifies it – aimed at constructing a reality free of every reference to nature, an “object” that responds only to the physical laws of perception – is tempered by the underlying but nonetheless unequivocal intention to vary his visual strategy, to consistently set himself new challenges and objectives, and to interfere with the environment in ways that are always new. Here, for example, in addition to the geometrical repetition of the layers, the strong plastic prominence of the extroflexions is intended to create a greater contrast between them and the introflexions, thereby offering the viewer a wider gap in continuity between zones in shadow and those struck by light and enhancing the sensation of movement that the work evokes.