VOLUMI E OMBRE

DAVIDE DE PAOLI

1936-2026

Opening June 16, 2026 at 6 pm

Until July 17, 2026

Over the years I have worked with a variety of materials, from metal to wood to terracotta. Whilst

jewellery-making involves a holistic process involving casting, rolling and soldering, in my sculpture

I have always drawn on industrial semi-finished products, in particular sheets of metal which I cut

into predominantly geometric shapes and transform into two- or three-dimensional forms. When it

comes to optical perception, there is often a deception: where solidity is implied, there is a void cast

by the shadow of a bent form. My works are largely like this: virtual volumes, topological paths,

compositions of pre-determined modules calculating solids and voids, alternating rhythms or

symmetries. The sculptures are often sharp-edged, resembling archaic weapons or volumes based

on the sphere and the square, my favourite elementary geometries.

Davide De Paoli, 2011

This is how Davide De Paoli presented himself at one of his latest exhibitions at the Ostrakon Gallery

in Milan in 2011.

Fifteen years later, Galleria Consadori presents a new solo exhibition of his work.

On display will be 18 sculptures and a selection of jewellery, following the common thread of a

creative journey that began with the artist’s first exhibition in 2001, “Sculture da indossare”

(“Sculptures to Wear”), which showcased his work as a jewellery designer.

This exhibition once again intertwines the gallery’s longstanding interest in sculpture with artists’

forays into the world of jewellery, understood as ornamentation regardless of the preciousness of

the materials. A theme much loved by leading figures in twentieth-century art such as Pietro

Consagra, Lucio Fontana, Fausto Melotti, Arnaldo and Giò Pomodoro, to name but a few.

Davide De Paoli was born in Milan in 1936. He attended the Scuola degli Artefici di Brera, and the

Scuola del Castello, and in 1961 he began his artistic career as an apprentice to the painter and

sculptor Remo Pasetto. Almost at the same time, he began to develop an interest in jewelry. As the

founder of the “New Italian Jewelry” movement, he championed jewelry as a work of art regardless

of the materials used. Drawing on his research as a sculptor into form and material, he created

jewelry lines recognizable for their geometric and natural forms, the use and combination of

unusual materials, and experimentation with the chromatic possibilities of metals. He died in 2026

in Milan.