Sergio Cecchi
Born in Venice (Italy) on 12 March 1921.
Died in Geneva (Switzerland) on 11 November 1987.
Italian · active primarily in Geneva and Switzerland · Modern figuration · urban and lakeside landscape · still life · animal painting
Sergio Cecchi developed a modern figurative practice closely associated with Geneva and its surroundings. An Italian artist active primarily in Switzerland, he placed the city’s streets, quays, markets, bridges and harbours at the centre of a body of work attentive to urban rhythms, the presence of human figures and changing light upon the water.
Dated works establish this sustained engagement from at least the early 1950s. Pont de Carouge is dated 1951, while views of the Geneva waterfront, the Quai du Mont-Blanc, Rue Basse and Rue d’Italie punctuate the decade. Figures integrated into the architecture, mobile handling of paint and an emphasis on atmosphere transform topographical description into a lively vision of the city.
His repertoire extends to the shores of Lake Geneva, Venice and Parisian scenes, including Place Clichy of 1960. Horses, nudes and flower pieces complement this landscape-based core. Oil was his principal medium, alongside watercolour, gouache, mixed media and graphic work; an auctioned Bouquet de fleurs executed in oil and gold leaf also documents his use of metallic surfaces in floral compositions.
The solo exhibition organised by Galerie Ohbi in Tokyo in January and February 1977, followed by the exhibition at the Galerie d’Art de la Place Beauvau in Paris from 30 March to 22 April 1978, documents the international circulation of his work. Cecchi was subsequently represented in posthumous group exhibitions in Geneva and Lausanne. In 2013 the City of Carouge acquired the watercolour Bords de l’Arve for its municipal fine-art collection.
Chevaux Gris, La rade de Genève, lumière d’or, Bouquet de roses or, Les Amants, Fleurs et fruits dans la lumière and La cascade embrasée, presented by Swiss Art Gallery, bring together the principal subjects and techniques represented in this corpus.
The works by Sergio Cecchi presented by Swiss Art Gallery extend this artistic journey and take their place naturally within this corpus.
