Carla Accardi

Carla Accardi, born Carolina Accardi on October 9, 1924, in Trapani, was one of the most important Italian abstract painters of the post-war period. After completing her classical high school diploma in Trapani, she studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Palermo and later in Florence before moving to Rome in 1946. In 1947, she co-founded the influential art group Forma 1 with Pietro Consagra, Ugo Attardi, Antonio Sanfilippo, Giulio Turcato, Piero Dorazio, Achille Perilli, and Mino Guerrini, a collective that became a key reference for abstract art in Italy during the 1940s and 1950s.

Her artistic research focused on abstraction, emphasizing the essential reduction of forms and signs while eliminating symbolic or allegorical meanings. Accardi was also a pioneer in demonstrating that female artists could convey strong messages rather than delicate themes, contributing to feminist activism within the art world. Throughout her career, she experimented with pseudo-calligraphic signs and often used a limited palette of black and white to explore the relationship between figure and background.

Accardi received recognition both in Italy and abroad, particularly in France, where art critic Michel Tapié supported her work. She continued to work both independently and with the MAC - Movimento Arte Concreta group. Carla Accardi passed away in Rome in 2014, leaving a significant legacy in Italian abstract art and feminist artistic movements.