Alberto Sughi facts for kids
Alberto Sughi (born October 5, 1928 – died March 31, 2012) was a famous Italian painter. He was known for his unique style that showed everyday life.
About Alberto Sughi
Alberto Sughi was born in Cesena, Italy. He taught himself how to paint. By the time he was a young adult, he had become one of the best Italian artists of his time.
He started painting in the early 1950s. Back then, artists were debating if art should be "abstract" (shapes and colors, not real things) or "figurative" (showing real people and objects). Sughi chose to paint in a realistic way. However, his paintings were not about telling people how to live. Instead, they showed moments from daily life without any "heroes." This led an art expert, Enrico Crispolti, to call his work "existential realism" in 1956. This means his art showed real life as it is, focusing on human experiences.
Sughi often worked on groups of paintings about a single idea, like scenes in a movie.
- First, he created his "green paintings" (1971–1973). These explored how people relate to nature.
- Then came the Supper series (1975–1976).
- After that, he made 20 paintings and 15 studies for Imagination and Memory of the Family in the early 1980s.
- The series Evening or reflection began in 1985.
- His most recent large paintings, shown in 2000, were called Nocturnal.
Exhibitions and Recognition
Alberto Sughi took part in many important art shows. These included the International Biennale art exhibition in Venice and the Quadriennale in Rome. He also had shows abroad that traced the history of Italian art from the 1970s until his later years.
Many museums in Italy and other countries held big shows of his art. Some of the most important ones were:
- The Gallery of Modern Art in Bologna (1977)
- The Manezh Gallery in Moscow (1978)
- The Museum of Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome
- The Fine Arts Museum in Budapest
- The National Gallery in Prague (1986)
- The Civic Modern Art Gallery in Ferrara (1988)
- The Casa Masaccio in San Giovanni Valdarno (1990)
- The Assis Chateaubriand Art Gallery in São Paulo, Brazil (1994)
- The Civic Museum of San Sepolcro (2003)
He also participated in other special exhibitions. For example, "The search for identity" (2003–2004) and "Intimate Portraits from Lotto to Pirandello" (2005).
In 1994, Alberto Sughi became the director of the Ente Quadriennale Nazionale d' Arte in Rome. This is a very important art institution.
Towards the end of 2005, a large show of Sughi’s work was held in Parma. It featured 642 pieces, including paintings, drawings, and prints. These works were made between 1959 and 2004. In 2006, another exhibition called "il Segno e l'Immagine" showed 50 of his works in Arezzo.
In 2007, Sughi had two more big solo exhibitions. One was in his hometown of Cesena, and the other was in Rome. In May 2009, a large show of ninety of his paintings took place in Palermo, Sicily. This exhibition later moved to the Italian Institute of Culture in London in September 2009.
In 2011, one of Alberto Sughi's paintings, Un mondo di freddo e di ghiaccio (A world of cold and of ice), was chosen for the 54th Venice Biennale. This is a very prestigious art event.
Alberto Sughi, Un mondo di freddo e di ghiaccio (2011)
Plagiarism Claims Against Yoshihiko Wada
In May 2006, news came out that a Japanese artist named Yoshihiko Wada was accused of copying Alberto Sughi's work. Wada, who was 66 at the time, had created several artworks that looked almost exactly like Sughi's. This story became big news in Japan.
Wada had won an important award, the Education, Science and Technology Minister's Art Encouragement Prize, in March for some of these similar artworks. However, in April, an anonymous tip was sent to art groups, questioning if Wada's work was original. This started an investigation into the copying claims.
Wada said he did not copy Sughi's work. He explained that he had known Sughi since the 1970s when he studied in Italy. He claimed they had painted together and shared ideas. Wada said his paintings were made to honor Sughi and that he had made this clear when he showed them.
Sughi, however, said he did not know about the similar paintings until the Japanese embassy in Italy contacted him. Sughi stated that Wada had visited his gallery several times, taking photos of his art. Sughi thought Wada was just a big fan, not an artist himself. Sughi was shocked to learn about Wada's works. He considered taking legal action against Wada for copying his art. Sughi believed that over 30 of Wada's paintings looked very much like his own. He suggested that the best way to find the truth would be to show both their works side-by-side. He also felt that Wada's award should be taken away.
A special meeting was held with three of the judges who gave Wada the art prize. They looked at reports and statements from both Wada and Sughi. They focused on Wada's exhibition that led to his prize. The judges decided there was not enough proof to say that Wada's works were not copied. The Agency for Cultural Affairs also concluded that several of Wada's works seemed to be copied. On June 5, they decided to take away the prize Wada had won. This was the first time since the award started in 1950 that an artist lost their prize.
