Alberto Biasi — Farfalle (1998)

Created at the height of Alberto Biasi’s mature period, Farfalle (1998) distills the artist’s seminal contribution to Italian optical-perceptual research into a lyrical, museum-grade object. As a founding member of Gruppo N in the early 1960s and a leading voice of Arte Programmata, Biasi redefined the artwork as an activated experience—one that changes with the viewer’s position, transforming light and apparent movement into a disciplined visual event. His institutional standing is firmly established through presence in major international collections, including MoMA (New York), Centre Pompidou (Paris), Museo del Novecento (Milan) and the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna (Rome).

In Farfalle, the signature PVC lamellae—modular and precisely aligned on a shaped support—generate a calibrated optical vibration that shifts with ambient light and the observer’s movement. The title evokes butterflies in flight, yet the image never becomes illustrative; instead, the sensation of fluttering emerges as a perceptual phenomenon, where color, rhythm and shallow relief produce a variable depth that animates the surface. Positioned conceptually between Biasi’s celebrated Torsioni and optico-dynamic works, this composition introduces a more symbolic register, using the motif of transformation as a pretext for a meditation on perception as something inherently unstable and continually renewed.

Works from the 1990s are widely regarded as a phase of technical refinement and compositional synthesis in Biasi’s output, and medium-format lamellae-on-panel pieces are particularly sought after for their display versatility and high visual responsiveness. The market has shown sustained momentum—reported average appreciation since 2016 has been significant, and landmark auction results for key historical dynamics and torsions have exceeded €100,000—supported by renewed museum attention, international retrospectives and the relative scarcity of unique works. This example is authenticated by the Archivio Alberto Biasi, strengthening confidence in attribution and long-term collectability, while its balanced scale and refined execution make it an intelligent acquisition for serious collectors of kinetic and optical art.