O C T A G O N — Sergio Sarri

sergio sarri

paintings & works on paper:

1971 - 2021

29.01.2022 | 26.03.2022

paris

Fitzpatrick Gallery is pleased to announce a retrospective survey of the Italian artist Sergio Sarri (born 1938, Torino), organized in collaboration with Octagon (Milan), an exhibition space run by artist Jacopo Mazzetti.

The work of Sarri centers on the relationship of man and machine. In his sleekly stylized canvases, Sarri collages fragmented elements—both human and mechanical—into dark, often erotic fantasies reminiscent of 1920s cinema, such as Fritz Lang’s Metropolis (1927) and Robert Wiene’s Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920). A surrealist spirit infuses these futuristic visions, which are rendered with the hard edge and bright colors of Pop Art, evoking cruel parallel worlds in which man has become subordinate to the machines they themselves created.

Sarri originally studied painting in Bern, Switzerland and then in Paris in the late 1950s, but it was his first visit to the United States in 1965 when the subject of his paintings shifted to explore the connections between humanity and technology, which have remained the dominant themes of his career. For over five decades he has continued to propose formal compositions placed between fantasy and a simultaneous analytic reality, with an iconographic symbolism evoking science and science fiction. Human intelligence mixes with the computer, and underlies a new understanding of cognitive processes reproducible by artificial systems. This imagery reveals body laboratories, specific to an era of work automation, correlated to the increased research of performances and corporal algorithms. This exhibition offers an opportunity to discover or rediscover Sergio Sarri: one of the pioneers of the dualistic figuration between humanity and machine, inscribing himself in research that extends from the sixteenth century to the present.

PRESS
032C
Spike Art
FRIEZE
Les Inrocks
Flash Art

ARTWORKS

Sergio Sarri
Grande Tavolo d’Analisi II, 1971
Acrylic on canvas (framed)
132 x 117 cm
52 x 46 1/8 in

Sergio Sarri
Grande Tavolo d’Analisi, 1971 - 1972
Acrylic on canvas (framed)
143 x 143 cm
56 1/4 x 56 1/4 in

Sergio Sarri
Studio per Segnali, 1972
Acrylic on canvas (framed)
60 x 50 cm
23 5/8 x 19 3/4 in

Sergio Sarri
Attrezzo Calcolatore, 1973
Acrylic on canvas
60 x 50 cm
23 5/8 x 19 3/4 in

Sergio Sarri
Manometro A, 1973
Acrylic on canvas (framed)
100 x 81 cm
39 3/8 x 31 7/8 in

Sergio Sarri
Studio per grande schermo, 1973 - 1974
Acrylic on canvas (framed)
61 x 61 cm
24 1/8 x 24 1/8 inSergio

Sergio Sarri
Studio per esperimento e macchina, 1974
Acrylic on canvas (framed)
50 x 35 cm
19 3/4 x 13 3/4 in

Sergio Sarri
Particolari, 1974
Rotoflexographic print on aluminium (framed)
75 x 55 cm
29 1/2 x 21 5/8 in
(#227/500)

Sergio Sarri
Fase 4, esecuzione, 1975
Acrylic on canvas with plastic wire, brushed aluminum, aluminun and synthetic leather inserts (framed)
146 x 114 cm
57 1/2 x 44 7/8 in

Sergio Sarri
Il filo rosso e tiranti, 1975
Acrylic on canvas and plastic inserts (framed)
80 x 60 cm
31 1/2 x 23 5/8 in

Sergio Sarri
Analisi di Correlazione, 1975
Acrylic on canvas and brushed aluminum inserts in artist’s frame
100 x 80 cm
39 3/8 x 31 1/2 in

Sergio Sarri
Studio per esperimento al polso, 1976
Acrylic on canvas (framed)
61 x 50 cm
24 1/8 x 19 3/4 in

Sergio Sarri
Il Grande Robot, 1979
Acrylic on canvas (framed)
150 x 116 cm
59 1/8 x 45 5/8 in

Sergio Sarri
L’Olimpo, 1980
Acrylic on board (framed)
93 x 66 cm
36 5/8 x 26 in

Sergio Sarri
Turbina, 1983
Watercolor, acrylic and ink on board mounted on canvas
70 x 50 cm
27 1/2 x 19 3/4 in

Sergio Sarri
Stanza Meccanica con Robot (Metropolis), 1983
Acrylic on canvas
80 x 75 cm
31 1/2 x 29 1/2 in

Sergio Sarri
L’alba del mondo, 1984
Acrylic on cardboard (framed with synthetic wool backing)
46 x 39.5 cm; 18 1/8 x 15 1/2 in (frame)
34 x 27 cm; 13 3/8 x 10 5/8 in (print)

Sergio Sarri
Passaggi, 1984
Acrylic on cardboard (framed with synthetic wool backing)
46 x 39.5 cm; 18 1/8 x 15 1/2 in (frame)
34 x 27 cm; 13 3/8 x 10 5/8 in (print)

Sergio Sarri
Uomo e spazio, 1984
Acrylic on cardboard (framed with synthetic wool backing)
46 x 39.5 cm; 18 1/8 x 15 1/2 in (frame)
34 x 27 cm; 13 3/8 x 10 5/8 in (print)

Sergio Sarri
La Fantome de la Liberté, 1985
Acrylic on canvas
100 x 70 cm
39 3/8 x 27 1/2 in

Sergio Sarri
L’inumano n°4, 1987
Acrylic on canvas
146 x 114 cm
57 1/2 x 44 7/8 in

Sergio Sarri
Studio per l’Isola IV, 1988
Acrylic on canvas (framed)
70 x 100 cm
27 1/2 x 39 3/8 in

Sergio Sarri
Piscina, 1989
Acrylic on canvas (framed)
123 x 153 cm
48 3/8 x 60 1/4 in

Sergio Sarri
Insects, 2020-2021
Acrylic on canvas
26 x 25 cm; 10 1/4 x 9 7/8 in (framed)
17 x 16 cm; 6 3/4 x 6 1/4 in

Sergio Sarri
Atom robot, 2020-2021
Acrylic on canvas
26 x 33 cm; 10 1/4 x 13 in (framed)
16 x 23 cm; 6 1/4 x 9 1/8 in

Sergio Sarri
Un analisi antropologica, 2021
Acrylic on canvas
32 x 27 cm; 12 5/8 x 10 5/8 in (framed)
23 x 18 cm; 9 1/8 x 7 1/8 in

Sergio Sarri
Il sogno dell’automa, 2021
Acrylic on canvas
34 x 30 cm; 13 3/8 x 11 3/4 in (framed)
24 x 20 cm; 9 1/2 x 7 7/8 in

Sergio Sarri
The shining girl, 2021
Acrylic on canvas
26 cm x 33 cm; 10 1/4 x 13 in (framed)
17 x 24 cm; 6 3/4 x 9 1/2 in

Sergio Sarri
Operazione alphaville, 2021
Acrylic on canvas (framed)
31 x 27 cm; 12 1/4 x 10 5/8 in (framed)
23 x 18 cm; 9 1/8 x 7 1/8 in

sergio sarri

paintings & works on paper:

1971 - 2021

29.01.2022 | 26.03.2022

fitzpatrick gallery

paris

Fitzpatrick Gallery is pleased to announce a retrospective survey of the Italian artist Sergio Sarri (born 1938, Torino), organized in collaboration with Octagon (Milan), an exhibition space run by artist Jacopo Mazzetti.

The work of Sarri centers on the relationship of man and machine. In his sleekly stylized canvases, Sarri collages fragmented elements—both human and mechanical—into dark, often erotic fantasies reminiscent of 1920s cinema, such as Fritz Lang’s Metropolis (1927) and Robert Wiene’s Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920). A surrealist spirit infuses these futuristic visions, which are rendered with the hard edge and bright colors of Pop Art, evoking cruel parallel worlds in which man has become subordinate to the machines they themselves created.

Sarri originally studied painting in Bern, Switzerland and then in Paris in the late 1950s, but it was his first visit to the United States in 1965 when the subject of his paintings shifted to explore the connections between humanity and technology, which have remained the dominant themes of his career. For over five decades he has continued to propose formal compositions placed between fantasy and a simultaneous analytic reality, with an iconographic symbolism evoking science and science fiction. Human intelligence mixes with the computer, and underlies a new understanding of cognitive processes reproducible by artificial systems. This imagery reveals body laboratories, specific to an era of work automation, correlated to the increased research of performances and corporal algorithms. This exhibition offers an opportunity to discover or rediscover Sergio Sarri: one of the pioneers of the dualistic figuration between humanity and machine, inscribing himself in research that extends from the sixteenth century to the present.

PRESS
032C
Spike Art
FRIEZE
Les Inrocks
Flash Art

ARTWORKS

Sergio Sarri
Grande Tavolo d’Analisi II, 1971
Acrylic on canvas (framed)
132 x 117 cm
52 x 46 1/8 in

Sergio Sarri
Grande Tavolo d’Analisi, 1971 - 1972
Acrylic on canvas (framed)
143 x 143 cm
56 1/4 x 56 1/4 in

Sergio Sarri
Studio per Segnali, 1972
Acrylic on canvas (framed)
60 x 50 cm
23 5/8 x 19 3/4 in

Sergio Sarri
Attrezzo Calcolatore, 1973
Acrylic on canvas
60 x 50 cm
23 5/8 x 19 3/4 in

Sergio Sarri
Manometro A, 1973
Acrylic on canvas (framed)
100 x 81 cm
39 3/8 x 31 7/8 in

Sergio Sarri
Studio per grande schermo, 1973 - 1974
Acrylic on canvas (framed)
61 x 61 cm
24 1/8 x 24 1/8 inSergio

Sergio Sarri
Studio per esperimento e macchina, 1974
Acrylic on canvas (framed)
50 x 35 cm
19 3/4 x 13 3/4 in

Sergio Sarri
Particolari, 1974
Rotoflexographic print on aluminium (framed)
75 x 55 cm
29 1/2 x 21 5/8 in
(#227/500)

Sergio Sarri
Fase 4, esecuzione, 1975
Acrylic on canvas with plastic wire, brushed aluminum, aluminun and synthetic leather inserts (framed)
146 x 114 cm
57 1/2 x 44 7/8 in

Sergio Sarri
Il filo rosso e tiranti, 1975
Acrylic on canvas and plastic inserts (framed)
80 x 60 cm
31 1/2 x 23 5/8 in

Sergio Sarri
Analisi di Correlazione, 1975
Acrylic on canvas and brushed aluminum inserts in artist’s frame
100 x 80 cm
39 3/8 x 31 1/2 in

Sergio Sarri
Studio per esperimento al polso, 1976
Acrylic on canvas (framed)
61 x 50 cm
24 1/8 x 19 3/4 in

Sergio Sarri
Il Grande Robot, 1979
Acrylic on canvas (framed)
150 x 116 cm
59 1/8 x 45 5/8 in

Sergio Sarri
L’Olimpo, 1980
Acrylic on board (framed)
93 x 66 cm
36 5/8 x 26 in

Sergio Sarri
Turbina, 1983
Watercolor, acrylic and ink on board mounted on canvas
70 x 50 cm
27 1/2 x 19 3/4 in

Sergio Sarri
Stanza Meccanica con Robot (Metropolis), 1983
Acrylic on canvas
80 x 75 cm
31 1/2 x 29 1/2 in

Sergio Sarri
L’alba del mondo, 1984
Acrylic on cardboard (framed with synthetic wool backing)
46 x 39.5 cm; 18 1/8 x 15 1/2 in (frame)
34 x 27 cm; 13 3/8 x 10 5/8 in (print)

Sergio Sarri
Passaggi, 1984
Acrylic on cardboard (framed with synthetic wool backing)
46 x 39.5 cm; 18 1/8 x 15 1/2 in (frame)
34 x 27 cm; 13 3/8 x 10 5/8 in (print)

Sergio Sarri
Uomo e spazio, 1984
Acrylic on cardboard (framed with synthetic wool backing)
46 x 39.5 cm; 18 1/8 x 15 1/2 in (frame)
34 x 27 cm; 13 3/8 x 10 5/8 in (print)

Sergio Sarri
La Fantome de la Liberté, 1985
Acrylic on canvas
100 x 70 cm
39 3/8 x 27 1/2 in

Sergio Sarri
L’inumano n°4, 1987
Acrylic on canvas
146 x 114 cm
57 1/2 x 44 7/8 in

Sergio Sarri
Studio per l’Isola IV, 1988
Acrylic on canvas (framed)
70 x 100 cm
27 1/2 x 39 3/8 in

Sergio Sarri
Piscina, 1989
Acrylic on canvas (framed)
123 x 153 cm
48 3/8 x 60 1/4 in

Sergio Sarri
Insects, 2020-2021
Acrylic on canvas
26 x 25 cm; 10 1/4 x 9 7/8 in (framed)
17 x 16 cm; 6 3/4 x 6 1/4 in

Sergio Sarri
Atom robot, 2020-2021
Acrylic on canvas
26 x 33 cm; 10 1/4 x 13 in (framed)
16 x 23 cm; 6 1/4 x 9 1/8 in

Sergio Sarri
Un analisi antropologica, 2021
Acrylic on canvas
32 x 27 cm; 12 5/8 x 10 5/8 in (framed)
23 x 18 cm; 9 1/8 x 7 1/8 in

Sergio Sarri
Il sogno dell’automa, 2021
Acrylic on canvas
34 x 30 cm; 13 3/8 x 11 3/4 in (framed)
24 x 20 cm; 9 1/2 x 7 7/8 in

Sergio Sarri
The shining girl, 2021
Acrylic on canvas
26 cm x 33 cm; 10 1/4 x 13 in (framed)
17 x 24 cm; 6 3/4 x 9 1/2 in

Sergio Sarri
Operazione alphaville, 2021
Acrylic on canvas (framed)
31 x 27 cm; 12 1/4 x 10 5/8 in (framed)
23 x 18 cm; 9 1/8 x 7 1/8 in