Fendi Turns Its Headquarters Into A Theatre Of Art

Turning 97 years old this month, Arnaldo Pomodoro was originally trained as a surveyor, but developed artistic interests in his 20s. He picked up stage design and goldsmithing, and befriended a host of avant-gardes ranging from sculptor Lucio Fontana – founder of the Spatialism art movement – to Alberto Giacometti and Mark Rothko. His famous bronze sculptures, many of which are situated in important public spaces around the globe, can be said to combine all these influences. Imposing Euclidean geometric forms (spheres, cubes, pyramids, et cetera), they have their surfaces carved in fossil-like high relief, as if to excavate their mythical inner workings, and are meant to be a dialogue between movement and disequilibrium, positive and negative space, and the past and future.

Pomodoro's love for the theatre, where he finds "a sense of creative freedom", has also led to impressive contributions to the performing arts. Below is a photo of the artist in his studio in 2012 with the costume he made for the 1986 production of Christopher Marlowe’s Dido, Queen of Carthage staged in the ruins of Gibellina, Sicily – the first display one sees upon setting foot into the "Arnaldo Pomodoro. Il Grande Teatro delle Civilta" exhibition as a nod to Fendi's fashion leanings.

The relationship between Fendi and the Fondazione Arnaldo Pomodoro – established by the artist himself in 1995 – dates back a decade, when the Italian luxury house set up its Milanese headquarters at Via Solari 35, previously the address of the foundation’s exhibition venue. This connection through space is uncanny, considering how location is a central theme in Pomodoro's work. "Sculpture must be projected into space in order to remove, as far as possible, the weight from the material and the work's fixed base," he says of it. "I have always tried to express movement as an intensification of a condition of imbalance in order to create a striking contrast to any stasis or any reached or predictable order."

True to that, the "Arnaldo Pomodoro. Il Grande Teatro delle Civilta" exhibition jointly organised by Fendi and the foundation is an evolution of their partnership figuratively and physically. Staged at the Palazzo della Civilta Italiana in Rome – a Fascist-era, Colosseum-inspired edifice restored into Fendi's headquarters in 2015 – it starts at each of the four outer corners of the scenic site, where one of Pomodoro’s Forme del Mito sculptures has been installed. Originally designed as stage devices for Italian artist Emilio Isgro’s Greek tragedy-inspired trilogy that was performed in an earthquake-ruined piazza in Sicily in the 1980s, each bronze monument transforms this house of Fendi into a stage, a temple and a place of wonder all at once.

The unexpected starting point of all of Pomodoro's work is the cuttlebone (read: the bone of cuttlefish). "I began my work as a sculptor by scratching into cuttlebone, carving a series of small marks into it. Then I came up with the idea of using the outlines of the bones themselves, enlarging them to become shields, sceptres and emblematic figures," says the artist. "Sometimes, I focused on studying all the lamellar structures within the bone … Digging into it to find these veins can evoke magical forms even if you've practically done nothing. It is the cuttlebone – both a fragment of the beach and a portion of the Mediterranean – offering up evocations and images."

Pictured above is Osso di Seppia (2011–2021), which translates directly to "bone of cuttlefish" and is one of the most awe-inspiring sights at the "Arnaldo Pomodoro. Il Grande Teatro delle Civilta" exhibition. Situated on the terrace on the third floor of Fendi's Roman headquarters, it's intentionally kept away from direct view, with only sections visible through the building’s famed arches to encourage visitors on the outside to imagine what lies within.

As part of the partnership between Fondazione Arnaldo Pomodoro and Fendi as well as the latter’s ongoing Canvas Peekaboo project, where cultural luminaries put their spin on the label’s iconic handbag, Pomodoro has created a version of the Peekaboo that resembles one of his otherworldly bronze sculptures with protracted spikes on its sides. His vision: to transform it into something "mysterious and visionary" and open to interpretation, be it as weaponry, a spiny creature or even an exotic flower with extra-long pistils.

Indeed, for Pomodoro, sculpture is a way to understand the world and the signs, forms and materials of its civilisations real or imagined, explaining how his creations appear elemental yet futuristic and cannot be pigeonholed into any one specific artistic movement. Above is Movimento in Piena Aria e nel Profondo (1996-1997), or Movement in the Open Air and in the Depths, which is anchored by two curves and features reliefs influenced by Renaissance, Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, Cubism and Surrealism. The grand idea behind it: the ability to quantum-bend time and space.

The Grande Tavola Della Memoria (1959-1965) above, or the Great Table of Memory, was the result after much reflection on bas-relief sculptures – where artisans carve against a 2D plane to accentuate shapes to give them a 3D appearance – and their relation to the ancient art of cuttlebone casting. Says Pomodoro: "The surface of the sculpture requires a slow, close-up view of individual details even if you've only just seen the monumental form as a whole and perceived the story's overall rhythm." In short, slow down and take your time – a message that certainly resonates with Fendi, a house built on savoir faire.

This article first appeared in the June 2023 Time, Labour, Love Edition of FEMALE