In January 1960 he would formulate his thoughts in a text entitled ‘Free Dimension’. Manzoni began making his Achromes the same year. Epoca blu by Yves Klein at the Galleria Apollinaire, and an exhibition of work by Alberto Burri at Galleria del Naviglio. Early in 1957 Manzoni visited two exhibitions in Milan that were also to become important for the development of his ideas: Proposte monochrome. Fontana was a familiar figure in the small Italian town of Abisola where Manzoni spent summers with his family, and he regularly encountered the older artist. Lucio Fontana, who had published his ‘Manifesto Blanco’ (‘White Manifesto’) in 1946, was an influential artist for Manzoni. Images which are as absolute as possible, which cannot be valued for that which they record, explain and express, but only for that which they are: to be.
It is the area of freedom in which we search for the discovery of our first images. We absolutely cannot consider the picture as a space on to which to project our mental scenography.
In his Achromes Manzoni brought together an interest in the artist as anti-expressionist and in the materiality of the art object. The absence of colour, coupled with working methods that removed the need for any gesture or action, allowed Manzoni to further his aim of creating an artwork that was without content beyond its immediate materiality. Manzoni wanted to rid painting of narrative content, and for him this involved removing colour from his works. He gave the title Achrome to all of the white works he made from 1957 until his death in 1963. His aim was not to achieve a pure white but rather a total absence of colour. Manzoni coined the term ‘achrome’ to indicate the absence of colour, or what might be termed ‘uncolour’. Wrinkles and creases that developed in the process of making and drying were allowed to set without any physical intervention from the artist. He made Achrome by soaking the canvas in china clay rather than applying it directly by hand. The work was made by Manzoni in 1958 while he was living in Milan. The complete absence of colour acts to focus the viewer’s attention on the material qualities of the object’s surface. The rough and uneven surface reveals the folds and wrinkles formed in the canvas as it sagged under the weight of the wet clay and hardened into irregular rigid folds. This painting-like object consists of canvas squares which have been soaked in kaolin, a specialist china clay used in the making of porcelain. The Board has strong confidence in Archroma’s leadership team and is focused on continuity during this period of transition.”Īrchroma recently ( January 2023) launched a range of FiberColors made from textile industry waste in a move aimed at addressing the growing challenge of waste in the apparel sector.Achrome is a one metre square, monochromatic artwork made of china-clay on canvas by the Italian artist Piero Manzoni. He is a proven leader and the perfect choice to serve as Archroma’s interim CEO. Kohlmann continued, “Mark has served in the capacity of chairman and CEO and in senior executive leadership roles with companies such as OMV/Borealis, Marquard & Bahls, Ciba Specialty Chemicals and DuPont. She was also instrumental in the successful acquisition of Huntsman’s Textile Effects business, which significantly enhanced Archroma’s capabilities in serving its customers and markets. During her tenure, van de Kerkhof played a vital role in advancing the company’s sustainability, innovation, and customer-focused business model. Archroma’s chairman of the board of directors, Miguel Kohlmann, expressed his gratitude to van de Kerkhof for her leadership and dedication to Archroma.
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