Pietro Consagra, Legno bruciato, 1960, 216 x 160 x 43.5 cm, cut wood, burned with a blowtorch and iron inserts.

The sculpture belongs to the unmistakable Colloqui series, made of bronze, wood, marble and steel between 1952 and 1962, in which Consagra gives his work a definitive frontal location.

Placed a few centimetres from the wall, so as not to be confused with a bas-relief, these first sculptures, almost two-dimensional, can all be seen in their entirety from a single point of view, without having to walk around them.

 ​Consagra pursued this environmental choice that destabilises the gaze out of a physical, emotional and spiritual need for contact with human beings, places and things, with the aim of establishing an immediate and equal relationship with the interlocutor and to induce a reflective pleasure.

The first burnt and painted wood was exhibited by Consagra at the Venice Biennale in 1954 and in the following years not many were made, about 16, mostly acquired by American museums

Legno bruciato is characterised by marked plastic properties, although Consagra stresses the material, to the point of making it become colour. ​The contrast between the burnt imprints and the smooth part of the sculpture creates a lively dynamism of the surface, both through the alternation of chiaroscuro and the linear rhythm of the design that engraves the wood at different levels. ​The forms are orchestrated so that they meet or detach, almost alluding to human emotions. ​The sculpture is also crossed by raised iron elements which, in the full vitality of the plane, enhance a strong and direct sculptural expressiveness. ​While an additional space surrounds the block: above, below and on all sides.

This sculpture, on display in the Segno e Materia gallery (fourth floor), has been added to the museum’s collection on loan from the Pietro Consagra Estate.