Untitled (I Want To Let You Know That I Do Not Want Moments of Knowledge)

Throughout his career, Pier Paolo Calzolari has explored materials and processes associated with transformation. His poetic works often incorporate language, and the artist frequently uses natural materials such as frost and salt (both products of processes of crystallization) in place of conventional artistic media. This early work belongs to a series the artist made using salt, lead, and textual elements. The white field seems to crystallize across its surface, offering a different version of the monochrome (single-color painting). The use of salt aligns with Calzolari’s life-long pursuit of creating a pure white color with natural materials. The poetic script on the work’s surface is written in crushed tobacco leaves. Surrounded by salt, the text appears to come into view and disappear at once, paralleling the work’s emphasis on process. The title of the work comes from Calzolari’s now iconic text, “La casa ideale” (The Ideal House; 1968). Written as a series of statements that the artist “would like to let you know,” the text articulated Calzolari’s desire for horizontality, democracy, and alchemy. Together, the layer of salt, lead sheet, and illegible yet poetic script evoke the artist’s ideas of vitality and expansion.