In Abstratto – Italians Do it Better

In Abstratto – A must-see show, extraordinarily heterogenous and dynamic life in paint-collection and outlook. The idiosyncratic and the unique. A Wonder Room of over 50 Abstract Italian artists.

To open up a catalogue from the MoMa, Guggenheim and so on is to see just how much of the history of modern art has been written from New York. We might feel well served by large institutions, but In Abstratto at the Estorick Collection is quite the shocker. So whet yourselves and leap over the lacunae in the public collections.

This chance to look at how Abstract art developed in Italy, to see what different histories and modalities came to occur there, is a really great opportunity to see the horizon and lexicon of thought and expression ever opening up. The sensation imparted is of many routes and streams that remain to be explored – very far from any sense that there is little territory remaining in the Abstract Art. The show might be a bit of work because of its unfamiliarity, or the milliard threads that offer themselves to be pulled, but that is its strength, and well worth it. It is very much something like a treasure trove or even something akin to a Wonder Room, or in fact three. The promise of this show. Really deserves a bigger exhibition. Even numerous individual shows.