Italian artist and designer whose extraordinary research deserves a (re)discovery.

For Augusto Betti (1919-2013), art was a philosophical and spiritual journey, which led him to a very profound understanding of the mysteries of life and of the world.

Appreciated by his illustrious contemporaries - including the art critic Giulio Carlo Argan, the great artist Lucio Fontana, the founder of Centro Pio Manzù Gerardo Filiberto Dasi - for reticence, modesty and character, Betti's work remained largely unknown.

This exhibition at Fondazione Sozzani is the result of a process of rediscovery and reevaluation led by Paradisoterrestre, aiming at making his incredible research and production finally recognized.

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Augusto-Betti
Painter and artist experimenting with new theories and materials, pupil of Giorgio Morandi and Giovanni Romagnoli at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna; designer and above all teacher; close associate of Silvio Ceccato, Director of Centro di Cibernetica e di Attività Linguistiche of the University of Milan and Gerardo Filiberto Dasi (Centro Pio Manzù, Rimini). A rich and stimulating life for Augusto Betti who, out of reluctance and character, relegated the outcomes of his creative production to an intimate and private dimension. On the rare occasions when he decided to participate in shows and exhibitions, his name appeared together with important figures in contemporary art such as Marina Apollonio, Agostino Bonalumi, Enrico Castellani, Gianni Colombo, Dadamaino, Lucio Fontana, Ugo La Pietra, Piero Manzoni, and Elio Marchegiani, and his work gained recognition from distinguished critics, including Umbro Apollonio, Giulio Carlo Argan, Palma Bucarelli, Carla Lonzi.

For Betti, art was not an aesthetic but an emotional quest. Stepping outside the classical canons, he found himself deeply exploring different areas: from energy and psychology to the mysteries of life. The exhibition delves into a forward-looking research projected into the future. It is rooted in the historical period in which it was undertaken but, at the same time, is surprisingly contemporary.

Alongside his artworks, on view also design pieces now part of Paradisoterrestre catalogue. Among these, the Noodle armchair (1967), created to explain to students the importance of free gestures in the generation of ideas, and the ceramic tea set – a material of choice from his hometown of Faenza – which Betti describes as his “most successful design object” (1975). Presented for the first time the re-editions of the Prisma armchair and sofa (1971), conceived during lectures to his students, and the Glass coffee table (1967), a smoked glass element whose cubic conformation allows for different compositional variations.

From the archive managed by his daughter Cristiana Betti come the very rare artworks from the “cassette” series (1959-1961); the resin and fiberglass sculptures Pulsazioni (1964), Scatola dei sentimenti (1964), Struttura equilibrante (1964), Obelisco (1965), Ballerina (1965), Vibrazioni (1967), Orgonoscopio (1967), Camera con lenti (1969); and also Austere chair and table (1967), Parete luce lamp (1967), Foemina chair (1967), Ciclope chair (1972).

EXHIBITION DESIGN Elisa Ossino Studio | TECHNICAL PARTNERS Medit Amini Carpets Home Design Italian Converter | EXHIBITION VIEWS ph. Nicola Morittu | VIDEO by Marco Riva

Prisma sofa

Paradisoterrestre Edition 2023

First production: Habitat Sintoni, 1971

Dimensions: W 220 D 100 H 80 cm | W 86,6 D 39,4 H 31,5 in

Materials: chrome-plated steel tubolar, wood, polyurethane foam, upholstery in wool-blend Kvadrat or cotton corduroy

  • Prisma armchair
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Prisma armchair

Paradisoterrestre Edition 2023

First production: Habitat Sintoni, 1971

Dimensions: W 110 D 100 H 80 cm | W 43,3 D 39,4 H 31,5 in

Materials: chrome-plated steel tubolar, wood, polyurethane foam, upholstery in wool-blend Kvadrat or cotton corduroy

  • Glass coffee table
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Glass coffee table

Paradisoterrestre Edition 2023

First production: Habitat Sintoni, 1967

Dimensions: W 40 D 40 H 40 cm | W 15,7 D 15,7 H 15,7 in

Materials: glass

Tea set 75

Paradisoterrestre Edition 2023

First production: Centro Pio Manzù, 1975

Colours: pink, mint green, white

Materials: enameled pottery

The tea set designed by Italian artist Augusto Betti in 1975 consists of 1 teapot, 1 sugar bowl, 2 cups and 2 saucers. Re-edited by Paradisoterrestre in a limited edition of 100 pieces for each colour, with numbering and signature on the teapot and Certificate of Authenticity.