Ronchini Gallery, together with Archivo Marca-Relli, Parma, is proud to present the second solo exhibition in the UK of works by the renowned Abstract Expressionist Conrad-Marca Relli. This follows the ground-breaking and acclaimed exhibition The Architecture of Action which was held at the gallery in 2012.
A central figure in the New York School of Abstract Expressionism that emerged after the Second World War, Marca-Relli’s career spans many decades and two continents. A contemporary of artists such as Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning, Marca-Relli’s works are made on the same monumental scale for which the Abstract Expressionist movement is known, yet Marca-Relli’s practice is unique amongst his compatriots for he rejected paint in favour of collage, a medium which Marca-Relli is now synonymous with. Featuring key works from the 1960s and 70s, a crucial period in the artist’s prolific career, the exhibition will include both collage works as well as a painted aluminium sculpture made in a unique assemblage fashion. Works by Marca-Relli have been exhibited multiple prestigious institutions internationally, yet this will be the first time these works have ever been displayed in the UK, which presents a rare opportunity to see a large group of Marca-Relli works from a key period brought together in a cohesive exhibition.
Born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1913, Conrad Marca-Relli moved to New York at the age of 13, in 1926. One of the founders of the Artist’s Club, alongside Franz Kline and John Ferren, Marca-Relli was part of the New York School of Abstract Expressionism. Focusing on art from the 1930s until his death at the age of 87, he established his own studio in Greenwich Village in 1931, and, in addition to numerous solo and group shows, Marca- Relli’s works can be found in the collections of the High Museum of Art, Atlanta; Museu d’Art Contemporani MACBA, Barcelona; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao; The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles; Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington DC; National Gallery of Art, Washington DC; Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice; Seattle Art Museum, Seattle; Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Solomon R Guggenheim Museum, New York.