Stratificazione I 

This is Stratificazione I by Bice Lazzari, and it’s made with humble materials: paint, perhaps mixed with other media, applied to a modest panel. The title, Stratificazione, tells us that it is a work of accumulation, like geological strata building up over time. Look closely, and you will notice the many colours – yellows, blues, reds, and greens – hidden beneath the dominant grey and black. Lazzari seems to have scraped and scrubbed the surface to reveal these layers. She engages in a kind of archaeology of her own process, creating a sense of history. Lazzari was working at a time when Italy was rebuilding after the Second World War. You could say this painting embodies that moment, a layering of the past and a tentative, brightly-coloured vision of the future. Ultimately, Stratificazione I shows us the value of looking beneath the surface, and the potential of simple materials to carry profound meaning.