Burri Inside Out: The One and Only Interview

Alberto Burri (1915-95) revolutionized midcentury painting with his use of unconventional materials--from burlap canvases, to plastic, to cements, to scrap iron and plastic sheets. But Burri never spoke of himself or his art--he famously refused to, and in documentary films of him working, he never says a word. "My works speak for me," he maintained for almost half a century, in the course of which he turned down interviews and awards. The first and only publication of Burri's interviews in existence, Burri Inside Out collects conversations between Burri and his friend and interlocutor Stefano Zorzi from 1994, near the end of Burri's life. In this text, we finally hear from Burri himself about his untraditional materials and processes, and about the underlying desire for formal and spatial harmony that drove his practice.