Carol Rama

Carol Rama (Turin, 1918-2015) is an autobiographical artist. Each character and object depicted in her works reflects Rama's personal history and memory. In her early watercolours created between 1936 and 1946, Rama depicted truncated female bodies, dentures, beds, wheelchairs, animals, shoes, and various other subjects. Due to their anachronistic nature, these works were initially deemed unacceptable. They serve as a portrayal of the anxieties and fantasies experienced by a young woman who, after a sheltered childhood in her father's home, was suddenly confronted with life's most traumatic aspects. During this period, she also started working on a series of etchings titled Le Parche (Fates).
In the 1950s, she felt compelled to move beyond her autobiographical focus and became involved with the MAC (Movimento Arte Concreta, Concrete Art Movement) group in Turin, where she developed her unique interpretation of abstraction. By the 1960s, her artistic exploration circled back to her personal experiences, blending everyday objects with her innate artistic sensibility. This phase gave rise to a series of paintings, dubbed "bricolages" by her friend Edoardo Sanguineti, who accompanied Rama and her work with authentic and unconventional poems and presentations. Carol's circle of friends, starting with those she encountered in Turin such as Felice Casorati, Albino Galvano, Italo Calvino, Massimo Mila, Carlo Mollino, and many others, played a significant role in her life and artistic journey. During the 1970s, while residing in Paris and New York with her art dealer Anselmino, she encountered prominent figures such as Andy Warhol, Orson Welles, and notably Man Ray, with whom she maintained a close association until his passing.
Her artistic output during this decade is characterized by its intimacy and diversity. Working on large canvases, Rama arranges bicycle inner tubes, evoking memories of her father's bicycle factory. These inner tubes, often showing signs of wear and repair, form a dynamic and textured surface, resembling the texture and appearance of human skin.
In 1980, the artist had a significant encounter with Lea Vergine, who included her in a travelling exhibition showcasing prominent women artists of the 20th century, titled "L'altra metà dell'avanguardia" (The Other Side of Avant-garde). This exhibition featured numerous works dating back to the 1930s and 1940s. Her first major retrospective, curated by Lea Vergine, took place in 1983 in Milan, just outside of the Duomo. It was during this time that the early works of Carol Rama gained recognition, which may have influenced her return to figuration in the early 1980s. Her later works from this period are characterized by their imaginative storytelling, whimsical elements, and references to myths and legends. In the 1990s, alongside drawings, collages, and paintings, Rama ventured into the realm of printmaking, thanks to a fruitful collaboration with printer, gallery owner, and publisher Franco Masoero. Despite not entirely forsaking figuration, Carol Rama's approach evolved over time. The figures and characters, deeply rooted in her personal history, took on a more essential quality, almost akin to emblems. In late 2005, Rama concluded her artistic career with her final works. She passed away on 24th September 2015 at her home in Turin.
Throughout her lifetime, Carol Rama received prestigious accolades, notably the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Biennale in 2003 and the President of the Republic Award, conferred at the recommendation of the Academy of St. Luke in Rome in 2010. Additionally, her works were featured in anthological exhibitions across various cities, including Milan, Turin, Rovereto, Genoa, Ulm, Innsbruck, Barcelona, Paris, Dublin, and New York.