Arnaldo Pomodoro, the brother of the sculptor Giò Pomodoro (1930–2002), was born in Montefeltro in 1926. He first studied stage design and worked as a surveyor for the municipal buildings services of the city of Pesaro, before turning to metal work and eventually embracing sculpture in the 1950s.
Following his artistic drive, he moved to Milan where he frequented leading representatives of contemporary Italian art such as Lucio Fontana. The painter who challenged the spatial integrity of the canvas would feature alongside Pomodoro himself, Enrico Baj and Sergio Dangelo as a member of the Continuità group between 1961 and 1962.
Pomodoro’s work is characterised by a masterful, delicate use of bronze in a variety of forms and formats. Spheres occupy a central position in his work, ranging from monumental outdoor pieces to intimate, pocket-size creations. The former can be found in public spaces in Sorrento, Rimini, Pesaro, Genoa, Rome, Milan, Tivoli, Turin, Terni, Belluno, Copenhagen, Brisbane, Dublin, Los Angeles and Charlotte, North Carolina.
Aesthetically, his work is deeply intricate, an exploration of the interior and the exterior, the hollow and the solid, the empty and the full, with carvings that possess all the delicate elegance of a piece of jewellery. This effect is underlined by the precious sheen – often golden, silver or brass – he cultivates in much of his sculpture.
He has enjoyed some landmark exhibitions throughout his career: at Galleria Numero in Florence and Galleria Montenapoleone in Milan (1954); the Venice Biennale (1964); Rotonda della Besana, Milan (1974); Paris Museum of Modern Art (1976); Forte Belvedere, Florence (1984); Palazzo dei Diamanti, Ferrara (1987); Hakone Open Air Museum, Japan (1994); Rocca Malatestiana, Cesena (1995); Rimini City Museum (1995); and Marlborough Gallery, New York (1996).
He is also the recipient of various prizes, including the International Sculpture Prize at the São Paulo Biennale (1963), the Carnegie Institute Sculpture Prize (1967), the Praemium Imperiale of the Japan Art Association (1990), Knight of the Great Cross of the Italian Republic (1996) and a lifetime achievement award from the International Sculpture Center (2008).
Pomodoro lives and works in Milan.
