A long artistic career that draws its inspiration from the becoming of existence
The Informel context of the mid-1950s served as a starting point for the young Valentino Vago (born in Barlassina, Monza, in 1931), allowing him to explore a specific creative approach before choosing paths more attuned to his spirit. As Renato Barilli wrote of him in 1980: “He has always moved with great consistency along a line of painting where the rigor of abstraction reconciles with the vibrant sensitivity of graphic elements, whose roots could be traced back to 1950s Spatialism; meanwhile, his luminosity and chromatic bliss might recall the Chiarismo of the 1930s. These diverse components allowed him to converge with original force into the ‘New Painting’ phenomenon between the 1960s and 70s“. Oils on canvas such as Caduta (1961), Luminoso (1963), and V.V. S. (1964) highlight various stages of this research.
He exhibited in prestigious venues such as São Paulo Biennial, Kunstmuseum in Cologne, Grand Palais in Paris
This approach clarifies Vago’s ability to eventually conquer the vast expanse of walls, where he would dissolve and distribute a rhythmic, harmonious gesture. He was in constant search of perceptions capable of engaging the observer’s sensitivity, turning them into active participants in the environmental works surrounding them.
In sacred spaces, Vago’s environments absorb and diffuse a vanishing light that leads the viewer to submerge themselves in eternity
A prime example is the 1980 exhibition Stanze in scala tonale at Palazzo Reale in Milan, where an inclusive sense of bewilderment had the power to absorb the sensitivity of those entering into empathetic contact with such complex creations. Guido Ballo famously coined the phrase “the becoming of existence as a source of inspiration” for him - a definition that perfectly captures Vago’s continuous questioning of the “mystery of tomorrow”.
In the Church of Nostra Signora del Rosario in Doha, an increasing diffusion of blue variants guides the gaze toward the blinding luminosity of the dom
Vago identified this mystery primarily within places of worship, where the architectural space absorbed and diffused a light so ethereal it felt like a gateway to eternity. The result of this vision is particularly evident in the Parish Church of San Giulio in Barlassina (1982) and in the Church of Nostra Signora del Rosario in Doha (Qatar, 2007-2008), where the increasing diffusion of blue tones leads the eye toward the blinding radiance of the dome.
In his works Palazzo Reale, a sense of disorientation has the power to capture and absorb the sensitivity of all who encounter the work
Valentino Vago, whose work has been exhibited in prestigious venues such as the São Paulo Biennial, the Kunstmuseum in Cologne, and the Grand Palais in Paris, found his ultimate and freest compositional expression in mural painting. It is no coincidence that his final endeavor - the Parish Church of San Giovanni in Laterano in Milan, completed in the summer of 2016, just eighteen months before his passing in January 2018 - was defined by the artist as “my Paradise.”
We would like to thank the Lucchetta brothers of the Euromobil Group for facilitating contact with the Valentino Vago Archive for the production of this article.
His final intervention at the Church of San Giovanni in Laterano (Milan) was described by the artist himself as “my Paradise”
