Edizioni Conz

Jacques Spacagna, Untitled, 1989, Silkscreen and acrylic on canvas, 60 × 45 cm, Edition of 8 plus I AP

Courtesy of Archivio Conz, Berlin

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Black ink silkscreen on canvas with unique hand painted additions in colour by the artist.

Silkscreen and acrylic on canvas
60 × 45 cm
(23 ⅝ × 17 ¾ inches)
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Jacques Spacagna was a prominent figure in the Lettrist movement. A poet and a painter, he created works that are distinctive for the use of micro-signs combined in hypergraphical hallucinogenic paintings. In 1953, he published his first manuscript, “Pourquoi je suis externiste,” in the anthology of manifestos Le soulèvement de la Jeunesse no. 7. Fueled by an intense fascination with the work of Isidore Isou, he adhered to the Lettrist movement. Spacagna also appears in the documentary by Orson Welles, Around the World with Orson Welles, in which, together with Isou and Maurice Lemaître, he recites Lettrist poems. Spacagna’s works are distinguished by the hypergraphical use of letters, alphabets, signs, and numbers, heralding what would be later referred to as Infinitesimal Art. In 1959, Henri Chopin published Spacagna’s poetry in the French literary magazine Cinquieme Saison, the precursor of OU. During the following years, the works of Spacagna were displayed in several galleries and museums in Paris. His first recital of Lettrist poems took place at the Musée d’art moderne de la Ville de Paris, along with fellow members of the Lettrist movement. In 1966, Spacagna began experimenting with lacquers, gold, and silver ink; examples include the frescoes at the Lycée Georges Sand in Domont and the Anna Livia Plurabelle panel, produced between 1968 and 1970. In 1967, Michel Tapié organized his first comprehensive solo exhibition at Galerie Stadler, Paris. After he parted ways with the Lettrist group in 1972, Spacagna’s work began to take on a more figurative quality. In 1973, he participated in Ralph Rumney’s “Atelier de création radiophonique” program, featuring the voices of Francois Dufrene, Gil J Wolman, and himself, among other actors. The relationship of fortunate collaboration between Francesco Conz and Spacagna is presented in the book Jaques Spacagna – Le Voyage en Italie, by Frédéric Acquaviva, published by Archivio Conz in 2007. The book traces the milestones of the projects completed by Spacagna during his stay in Verona in 1989 and 1990. Spacagna took part in the sixth workshop for the project La Livre: An Homage to Ezra Pound at Brunnenburg Castle and created numerous editions and unique works for Conz, including the prepared piano Piano dit des arcs-en-ciel d’Erik Satié (1989).

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