Fresh from a successful touring show in the UK, and having won the support of no less a champion than Herbert Read, the Swiss Italian painter and illustrator Luigi Pericle retreated from the art world abruptly in 1965. For the rest of his life, he continued to paint, and to study esoteric philosophy in the secluded house he shared with his wife Orsolina on the Monte Verità in Ticino. He died in 2001, after which his home, with its many hundreds of works representing six decades of spiritual exploration, was forgotten until 2016. Now, the Museo d’arte della Svizzera italiana is hosting the first major survey of Pericle’s work in Switzerland (until 5 September); examples of his vivid abstract paintings over the decades are displayed alongside documents and ink drawings that show how his style and spiritualist interests developed. Find out more from MASI Lugano’s website.
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Untitled (Matri Dei d.d.d.) (1966), Luigi Pericle. Biasca-Caroni collection, Photo: © Marco Beck Peccoz
Untitled (n.d.). Luigi Pericle. Private collection
Untitled (Matri Dei d.d.d.) (1963), Luigi Pericle. Archivio Luigi Pericle. Photo: © Marco Beck Peccoz
Luigi Pericle