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Caleidoscopio, 1976
GPO-0323
Kaleidoscope
Plaster casts, stainless steel sheets
Two casts h 90 cm each, two sheets 3 x 70 x 70 cm each, overall dimensions 93 x 210 x 70 cm
The work was executed in a numbered edition of three plus one artist's proof. The author inadvertently authenticated two editions with the number 3/3, designated here as “3/3 [a]” and “3/3 [b]”. The existence of edition 1/3 has not yet been proven.
| 2/3 | FER Collection |
| 3/3 [a] | Klassik Stiftung Weimar, Weimar |
| 3/3 [b] | Present whereabouts unknown |
| A.P. | Fondazione Giulio e Anna Paolini, Turin |
| 2/3 | From 11 November 1999 to 22 August 2002 on loan at Museum für neue Kunst, Karlsruhe |
| 3/3 [a] | Gift of Paul Maenz, 1993, inventory no. PM O 13 |
| A.P. | Gift of the artist, 25 October 2012, archive no. GPO-0323 |
The distance between the two steel plates must be equal to 70 cm (that is, to the side of the plate).
Two identical plaster casts of a grooved column are set – one right side up, the other upside down – on two reflecting plates, so that each of the elements is reflected in its own upside down image. In the artist's own words: “That is to say, nothing remains, nothing becomes. Anyone who might imagine placing one column atop the other would reproduce the image that each column reproduces of itself”.1
In 1994 the artist made a marble replica of the work to be placed outdoors (GPO-0731).
1 G. Paolini in Giulio Paolini. Atto unico in tre quadri, exhibition catalogue, Milan, Studio Marconi (Milan: Gabriele Mazzotta editore, 1979), p. 108.
| 1976 | Milan, Studio Marconi, Giulio Paolini, from 5 February; edition 2/3. |
| 1976 | Paris, Galerie Yvon Lambert, Giulio Paolini, from 26 February. |
| 1976 | Düsseldorf, Städtische Kunsthalle, ProspectRETROSPECT. Europa 1946-1976, 25 October - 4 November, not repr.; edition 3/3 [a]. |
| 1977 | Mönchengladbach, Städtisches Museum, Giulio Paolini, 3 March - 11 April, repr.; edition 3/3 [a]. |
| 1977 | Mannheim, Mannheimer Kunstverein, Giulio Paolini, 31 July - 28 August, repr. p. 57, commentary by P. Maenz p. 56; edition 3/3 [a]. |
| 1978 | Naples, Museo Diego Aragona Pignatelli Cortes, Giulio Paolini, from 9 February, no catalogue. |
| 1980 | Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum, Giulio Paolini, 10 April - 26 May, touring to: Oxford, The Museum of Modern Art, 8 June - 20 July, cited in the checklist of exhibited works and repr. p. 54 (exhibition view Naples 1978). |
| 1983 | Bonn, Bonner Kunstverein, Concetto-Imago. Generationswechsel in Italien, 18 March - 1 May, repr. p. 16; edition 3/3 [a]. |
| 1983-84 | Essen, Museum Folkwang, Werke aus der Sammlung FER, 9 December 1983 - 22 May 1984, repr. p. 119, commentary by P. Maenz pp. 119-120 (catalogue published as Die Sammlung FER – The FER Collection); edition 2/3. |
| 1984 | Spoleto, Palazzo Rosari Spada, XXVII Festival dei Due Mondi, Giulio Paolini. Casa di Lucrezio, 27 June - 16 July, cited in the checklist of exhibited works no. 2 p. 30, repr. p. 37; artist’s proof. |
| 1984 | Perugia, Rocca Paolina, Palazzo dei Priori and Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo Attraversamenti. Linee della nuova arte contemporanea italiana, September - November, not repr. |
| 1986 | Cologne, Galerie Paul Maenz, Giulio Paolini. Dal “Trionfo della rappresentazione” (cerimoniale: in prospettiva), 4 February - 1 March; edition 3/3 [a]. |
| 1986 | Arnhem, Sonsbeek 86. International Sculpture Exhibition, 18 June - 14 September, vol. 2, cited in the checklist of exhibited works p. 384, col. repr. p. 353 (exhibition view), referred to in the text by S. Bos p. 38; edition 3/3 [a]. |
| 1986 | Stuttgart, Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, Giulio Paolini, 20 September - 2 November, cited in the checklist of exhibited works vol. 4 no. 25 p. 52, repr. vol. 3 pp. 27, 31 (exhibition view Spoleto 1984), repr. vol. 2 on back cover (exhibition view); edition 2/3. |
| 1987 | Turin, Mole Antonelliana, Lo specchio e il doppio. Dallo stagno di Narciso allo schermo televisivo, 24 June - 11 October, cited in the checklist of exhibited works cat. no. 121, repr. p. 212; artist’s proof. |
| 1988-89 | Rome, Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna, Giulio Paolini, 24 November 1988 - 26 February 1989, cited in the checklist of exhibited works p. 95, repr. no. 17; artist’s proof. |
| 1989 | Bonn, Bonner Kunstverein, 2000 Jahre. Die Gegenwart der Vergangenheit, 1 October - 26 November, repr. p. 23 (exhibition view Naples 1978); edition 3/3 [a]. |
| 1993 | Salzburg, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Utopia. Arte italiana 1950-1993, 24 July - 31 August, cited in the checklist of exhibited works no. 69 p. 137, col. repr. p. 104 (erroneously dated “1971”); artist’s proof. |
| 1994 | Weimar, Kunstsammlungen zu Weimar, Schlossmuseum, Der Fürst schmollt – Moderne trifft Klassik: Werke aus der Sammlung Paul Maenz, 10 June - 31 July, no catalogue; edition 3/3 [a]. |
| 1995 | Sarzana, Fortezza Firmafede, Il mito e il classico nell’arte contemporanea italiana 1960-1990, 28 April - 15 July, cited in the checklist of exhibited works p. 164, col. repr. p. 73. |
| 1996 | Weimar, Weimarer Schloss, 27 September - 27 October, displayed alongside the solo exhibition Giulio Paolini. Impressions graphiques at the Kunsthaus Apolda Avantgarde, Weimar, are a group of works by Paolini belonging to the Paul Maenz Collection and to the Kunstsammlungen zu Weimar, no catalogue; edition 3/3 [a]. |
| 1999 | Turin, GAM Galleria Civica d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Giulio Paolini. Da oggi a ieri, 8 May - 25 July, cited in the checklist of exhibited works no. 19 p. 37, repr. p. 109 (exhibition view); artist’s proof. |
| 1999 | Karlsruhe, Museum für neue Kunst, Werke aus den Sammlungen FER, Froehlich, Grässlin, Weishaupt, from 4 December, no catalogue; edition 2/3. |
| 2002-03 | Weimar, Neues Museum, Vis-à-vis. Malerische Positionen aus den letzten sechs Jahrzehnten, 7 July 2002 - 21 April 2003, no catalogue; edition 3/3 [a]. |
| 2005 | Winterthur, Kunstmuseum Winterthur, Giulio Paolini. Esposizione universale, 23 April - 24 June, cited in the checklist of exhibited works no. 15 p. 87, col. repr. n. pag. (exhibition view), referred to in the text by D. Schwarz p. 23; artist’s proof. |
| 2005 | Münster, Westfälisches Landesmuseum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte, Giulio Paolini. Esposizione universale, 1 October 2005 - 8 January 2006, same catalogue and same edition as for the solo exhibition in Winterthur 2005. |
| 2009 | Goslar, Mönchehaus Museum, Palais des Mirages. Werke aus der Sammlung FER, 9 May - 12 July, repr. p. 44. |
| 2009 | Rome, Museo Carlo Bilotti, Speculazioni d’artista. Quattro generazioni allo specchio, 26 June - 4 October, repr. p. 69; artist’s proof. |
| 2009 | Ulm, Stadtregal Ulm, Sammlung FER Collection, from 2 October 2009, catalogue in the form of loose entries about the artists in the collection, repr., commentary by P. Maenz (taken from the catalogue Mannheim 1977); edition 2/3. |
| 2018-19 | Milan, Fondazione Carriero, Giulio Paolini. Del bello ideale, 26 October 2018 • 10 February 2019, col. repr. vol. 1 pp. 146-147, 148-149 (exhibition views), b/n repr. vol. 1 p. 171 (exhibition view Naples 1978); artist’s proof. |
| • | G. Paolini in Giulio Paolini. Atto unico in tre quadri, exhibition catalogue, Milan, Studio Marconi (Milan: Gabriele Mazzotta editore, 1979), p. 108 (note to the work published in the visitor's guide drawn up for the solo exhibition at Museo Diego Aragona Pignatelli Cortes, Naples 1978). |
| • | A.C. Quintavalle, “Paolini: scritture”, in Giulio Paolini (Parma: Università di Parma, Centro Studi e Archivio della Comunicazione, 1976), p. 56, not repr. |
| • | T. Trini, “Come l’immaginario si ribella all’immaginazione”, in Data 20 (Milan), March-April, 1976, pp. 90-91, repr. on cover; republished in Tommaso Trini. Mezzo secolo di arte intera. Scritti 1964-2014, edited by L. Cerizza (Milan: Johan & Levi Editore, 2016), p. 116, not repr. |
| • | Paolo Mussat Sartor Fotografo 1968-1978. Arte e artisti in Italia (Turin: Stampatori Editore, 1979), repr. p. 169 (exhibition view Naples 1978). |
| • | “Il sublime e l’insignificante. Il mito dei due amanti o l’idea del sublime di Giulio Paolini”, in Gran Bazaar 4 (Milan), September-October, 1979, repr. p. 157 (exhibition view Naples 1978 and exhibition view Milan 1976). |
| • | Giulio Paolini. Atto unico in tre quadri, exhibition catalogue, Milan, Studio Marconi (Milan: Gabriele Mazzotta editore, 1979), repr. p. 108. |
| • | I. Tomassoni, “Giulio Paolini”, in Flash Art 94-95 (Milan, Italian edition), January-February, 1980, p. 5, repr. p. 6. |
| • | Kunstforum International 39, monographic issue Italienische Kunst heute edited by M. Grüterich (Mainz), March, 1980, repr. p. 79. |
| • | E. Lucie-Smith, Art in the Seventies (Oxford: Phaidon Press Limited, 1980), repr. p. 101 (exhibition view Milan 1976). |
| • | Art Actuel Skira Annuel N. 6. Numéro spécial 1970-1980 / Actual Art Skira Annual No. 6. Special Issue 1970-1980 (Geneva: Éditions Skira, 1980), repr. p. 122. |
| • | Identité Italienne. L’art en Italie depuis 1959, edited by G. Celant (Paris-Florence: Centre Georges Pompidou and Centro Di, 1981), p. 563, not repr. |
| • | A. Pohlen, “Generationswechsel auf italienisch”, in Kunstforum International 63-64, no. 7-8 (Mainz), July-August, 1983, pp. 359-361 (p. 360, col. repr.). |
| • | Die Sammlung FER – The FER Collection, edited by P. Maenz (Cologne: Verlag Gerd de Vries, 1983), repr. p. 119, commentary by P. Maenz pp. 119-120 (taken from the catalogue for the solo exhibition in Mannheim 1977), cited in the list of works from the collection p. 185. |
| • | Giulio Paolini, vol. Images/Index (Villeurbanne: Le Nouveau Musée, 1984), repr. p. 72. |
| • | Der Traum des Orpheus. Mythologie in der italienischen Gegenwartskunst 1967 bis 1984, exhibition catalogue, Munich, Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, 1984, repr. p. 83 (exhibition view Naples 1978). |
| • | A. Mammì, I. Panicelli, “Giulio Paolini. Bibliografia”, in Giulio Paolini. La Casa di Lucrezio, exhibition catalogue, Spoleto, Palazzo Rosari Spada (Casalecchio di Reno: Grafis Edizioni, 1984), p. 22, not repr.; republished in Markus Lüpertz, Giulio Paolini: figure, colonne, finestre, exhibition catalogue, Rivoli, Castello di Rivoli, 1986, p. 80, not repr. |
| • | “Giulio Paolini. Casa di Lucrezio, 1981-1984”, in Anoir, Eblanc, Irouge, Uvert, Obleu 5, no. 10-11 (Rome), July, 1984, repr. p. 23 (exhibition view Spoleto 1984). |
| • | G. Paolini, “Trionfo della rappresentazione”, in Furor 12 (Geneva), October, 1984, repr. no. 6. |
| • | The European Iceberg. Creativity in Germany and Italy Today, exhibition catalogue, Toronto, Art Gallery of Ontario (Milan: Nuove Edizioni Gabriele Mazzotta, 1985), repr. p. 152. |
| • | Giulio Paolini. “Tutto qui”, exhibition catalogue, Ravenna, Pinacoteca Comunale, Loggetta Lombardesca (Ravenna: Agenzia Editoriale Essegi, 1985), repr. no. 28. |
| • | Del Arte Povera a 1985, exhibition catalogue, Madrid, Palacio de Cristal, Palacio de Velázquez, Parque del Retiro, 1985, repr. no. 93 p. 107. |
| • | Italia Aperta, exhibition catalogue, Madrid, Fundación Caja de Pensiones, 1985, repr. no. 40 p. 121. |
| • | G. Celant, The Knot Arte Povera (Turin: Umberto Allemandi & C., 1985), repr. p. 24; Italian edition: Arte Povera (Turin: Umberto Allemandi & C., 1989), repr. p. 32; French edition: Arte Povera (Villeurbanne: Art Édition, 1989), repr. p. 41. |
| • | Paul Maenz Ausstellungen / Exhibition. Saison / Season 1985-86 (Cologne: Galerie Paul Maenz, 1986), repr. n. pag. (exhibition view Cologne 1986). |
| • | B. Corà, “Ho visto. Immagini da ‘Sonsbeek 86’ a Sonsbeek, 1986 e ‘Chambres d'amis’ a Gand, 1986”, in Anoir, Eblanc, Irouge, Uvert, Obleu 7, no. 17-18, April-September, 1986, repr. p. 114 (exhibition view Sonsbeek 1986). |
| • | R. Dank, “Sonsbeek ‘86”, in Kunstforum International 85, September-October, 1986, pp. 247-255, col. repr. pp. 250-251. |
| • | G. Paolini, Suspense. Breve storia del vuoto in tredici stanze (Florence: Hopeful Monster editore, 1988), repr. pp. 50-51 (exhibition view Naples 1978). |
| • | F. Poli, “Note di lettura”, in Id., Giulio Paolini (Turin: Lindau, 1990), p. 40, not repr.; republished in Giulio Paolini. Von heute bis gestern / Da oggi a ieri, exhibition catalogue, Graz, Neue Galerie im Landesmuseum Joanneum (Ostfildern-Ruit: Cantz Verlag, 1998), p. 65. |
| • | Paul Maenz Köln 1970-1980-1990. Eine Avantgarde-Galerie und die Kunst unserer Zeit / An Avant-Garde Gallery and the Art of Our Time, edited by G. de Vries (Cologne: DuMont Buchverlag, 1991), repr. p. 204 (exhibition view Cologne 1986). |
| • | Italiana. From Arte Povera to Transavanguardia, exhibition catalogue, Yokohama, Nicaf 3 (Milan: Fondazione Mudima Edizioni, 1994), repr. p. 204. |
| • | Artmonie. Architettura e scultura negli spazi pubblici, exhibition catalogue, Ivano Fracena, Castel Ivano, 1997, repr. p. 27. |
| • | Giulio Paolini. Von heute bis gestern / Da oggi a ieri, op. cit. (Ostfildern-Ruit: 1998), repr. pp. 124 (exhibition view Spoleto 1984), 251. |
| • | Die Sammlung Paul Maenz Neues Museum Weimar. Band I: Objekte, Bilder, Installationen (Weimar-Ostfildern-Ruit: Neues Museum and Hatje Cantz Verlag, 1999), repr. cat. no. 81 p. 118, catalogue entry by H. Dickel. |
| • | C. Christov-Bakargiev, Arte Povera (London: Phaidon Press Limited, 1999), col. repr. p. 139 (exhibition view Rome 1988-89). |
| • | Skulptur-Biennale im Münsterland 1999, exhibition catalogue, Münster (Dülmen: Laumann-Verlag, 1999), p. 60, repr. (exhibition view Naples 1978). |
| • | Sembianti della scultura, exhibition catalogue, Crespellano, Palazzo Stella, 2000, repr. p. 45 (exhibition view Naples 1978). |
| • | Ø. Nygård, M. Stræde, Bias. 33 artist’s views on sculpture (Copenhagen: The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, 2000), note by G. Paolini p. 155, repr. p. 154. |
| • | Giulio Paolini. Early Dynastic, exhibition catalogue, Rome, Studio d’Arte Contemporanea Pino Casagrande (Milan: Skira editore, 2001), repr. pp. 30-31 (exhibition view Naples 1978). |
| • | Paolo Mussat Sartor. Artisti e opere. Portraits, exhibition catalogue, Nice, Galerie contemporaine du Musée d’Art moderne et d’Art contemporain, 2003, repr. n. pag. (exhibition view Naples 1978). |
| • | B. Corà, "Fausto Melotti. Consonanze", in Melotti. Consonanze con Castellani, Fabro, Paolini, exhibition catalogue, La Spezia, Centro Arte Moderna e Contemporanea (Prato: Gli Ori, 2006), p. 24, repr. p. 23. |
| • | G. Paolini, Quattro passi. Nel museo senza muse (Turin: Giulio Einaudi editore, 2006), plate no. IV (exhibition view Naples 1978). |
| • | D. Paparoni, “La solitudine dei segni”, in Mentalgrafie. Viaggio nell’arte contemporanea italiana / Mentalscapes. A Journey through Italian Contemporary Art, exhibition catalogue, Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv Museum of Art (Milan: Skira editore, 2007), p. 26, repr. |
| • | M. Disch, Giulio Paolini. Catalogo ragionato 1960-1999, vol. 1 (Milan: Skira editore, 2008), cat. no. 323 p. 332, repr. (exhibition view Naples 1978). |
| • | Paolo Mussat Sartor Luoghi d’arte e di artisti. 1968-2008 (Zurich: JPR|Ringier, 2008), repr. n. pag. (exhibition view Naples 1978). |
| • | Costanti del classico nell’arte del XX e XXI secolo, exhibition catalogue, Catania, Fondazione Puglisi Cosentino (Cinisello Balsamo: Silvana Editoriale, 2009), repr. p. 133. |
| • | P. Repetto, “Oltre il visibile”, in Giulio Paolini. O.D.E., exhibition catalogue, Monforte d’Alba (Cuneo), Castello di Perno (Alba: Fondazione Mancini Carini, 2022), repr. pp. 60-61 (exhibition view Naples 1978). |
| • | Giulio Paolini. A come Accademia, exhibition catalogue, Rome, Accademia Nazionale di San Luca (Rome: Gangemi Editore, 2023), repr. pp. 153 (exhibition view Mannheim 1977), 155 (exhibition view Naples 1978), 167 (exhibition view Amsterdam 1980), col. repr. p. 197 (exhibition view Stuttgart 1986), repr. pp. 206-207 (exhibition view Rome 1988), col. repr. pp. 286-287 (exhibition view Milan 2018). |
| • | F. Belloni, “L’immagine dell’artista”, in 0424. I vent’anni della Fondazione Giulio e Anna Paolini, edited by B. Della Casa (Turin: Fondazione Giulio e Anna Paolini, 2025), p. 20, col. repr. pp. 36-37 (installation at the artist’s home). |
Entry by Maddalena Disch, 12/12/2025
