the deconstructing lichtenstein thing recently resurfaced over at drawn! which got me thinking about pop-art… mainly how i never much liked any of the artists i’d come across who were crammed into that category… with one glaring exception that is: valerio adami. (though to be honest i never really thought of him in terms of a pop-art.) “who?” you ask. he’s an italian artist who came up in the 50’s, made a decent sized splash in the 70’s, and who today is most likely to be filed under the “one of the most talented artists no one’s ever heard of” category, which is unfortunate, especially considering how relevant his style would seem in today’s circles, if not his subject matter.

the only reason i came across him myself was that 10 years ago i worked for a short time in a (now defunct) 57th street gallery called marissa del rey which represented him. i was blown away by his work and had to spend quite a while trying to shake off his influence. anyhow, even though he’s been written about by octavio paz, italio calvino, and jaques derrida, among others, i was hard pressed to come up with anything substantial written about him in english. considering the bits i did find ( i.e. “The fetishism generalized by Adami turns to derision the classical logics of fetishism, the opposition of the fetishized bit and the thing itself, and God, and the original referent, and the transcendental phallus.” -from derrida’s truth in painting) perhaps that’s for the best. see below for some images (click all for larger verisons) and a few scant links. it was hard to decide which images to scan, there are so many gorgeous images to choose from, but i hope you enjoy these…

here are a few links-

4 pages on adami via spaightwood galleries

15 images via galleri gkm

18 images via postershop uk

very spotty google translation of a long piece derived from derrida. and here are 11 associated images

11 more via saletta galaverni.

and that’s it. can’t find anything more in depth. if anyone has better links on adami by all means send them my way or drop them in comments. ciao.