Accardi was born in Trapani, Sicily and studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence before relocating to Rome in 1946, where she would live until her death. Soon after beginning her work in Rome, she became a member of the Art Club and frequented Pietro Consagra's studio. Here she met her future spouse, the fellow-artist Antonio Sanfilippo, and others that would influence her Marxist ideology. In 1947, she co-founded the influential postwar art group Forma 1 with Ugo Attardi, Pietro Consagra, Piero Dorazio, Mino Guerrini, Achille Perilli, Antonio Sanfilippo and Giulio Turcato.
Work
Her earliest paintings were self-portraits but after she moved to Rome her work became more experimental, this is also when she joined the Italian avant-garde movement. In the 1960s, Accardi started making her first paintings in black and white, focusing on monochromy, color, and shapes.
She transitioned to vibrant and intense colors in the mid-1960s, with Stella and II Stella (Star I and II) being the first of her paintings with this new focus. At this time she also began using a clear plastic material called Sicofoil, which she describes as "like something luminous, a mixing and a fluidity with the surrounding environment: perhaps in order to take away the totemic value of the painting." She used this material to make Tendas, or tents of clear plastic, which she adorned with painted forms.
During the late 1970s she withdrew from art making to become part of the feminist movement with critic Carla Lonzi. Together the two founded Rivolta femminile in 1970, one of Italy's first feminist groups and publishing houses. She is considered a key member of the Italian Avant-Garde and her artwork influenced the Arte Povera movement in the late 1960s. She first exhibited in the United States in 2001 at MoMA PS1.
Accardi was first recognized for her work within the art group Forma 1. They had their first exhibition in Rome in 1947. Other prominent artists within Forma 1 include Pietro Consagra a sculptor, Piero Dorado a painter, Giulio Turcato a painter, Achille Perilli an abstract painter. Her husband, Antonio Sanfilippo a prominent Italian painter, and Mino Guerrini an Italian screenwriter, director, actor, and painter. Her work became well known in France where famous art critic Michel Tapie took an interest in her work.
Known works include: 1960 Bianco nero su turchese 1962 Azzurroviolarancio 1964 Bozetto Bronzo 1968 Segni Rosa Verde 1971 Segni Rosa 1987 Per L'Infinito lo Scirocco 1990 Apparenti Tinte 1992 Grigio Rosso 1997 Verde Rosso 2005 Viola Arancio 2007 Blu 2008 Rosso du Grigio 2011 Senza Titulo 2012 L'Enigma dell'ora Melodie Fluvial Mistero en forme
Exhibitions
Solo Exhibitions
2007
Galerie Greta Meert; Brussels
2004
Macro Museo d’Arte Contemporanea Roma; Rome, Italy
Galerie Meert Rihoux; Brussels, Belgium
2003
Carla Accardi- Opere recenti, Galleria Astuni; Pietrasanta, Italy
2002
Galerie Meert Rioux; Brussels
Galleria d’Arte Moderna di Ljubljana; Slovenia
Musee d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris; Paris
Carla Accardi, Galleria Pecci; Milan, Italy
2001
Triplice Tenda, P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center; New York
Carla Accardi. Premio Artista dell’anno, Palazzo Crepadona; Belluno
Carla Accardi. Premio Artista dell’anno, Galleria Civica; Cortina d’Ampezzo
