"The President's Favorite", Enrico Baj, 1992, polychrome ceramic.
"The President's Favorite", a sculpture created by Enrico Baj in 1992, is a fascinating and intriguing work that stands out for its liveliness and originality. Made of polychrome ceramic, this sculpture represents an oval face with golden curly hair.
What immediately strikes the viewer is the bold use of color and the disproportion of the facial features. The mouth, nose, and eyes are made with different colors and are accentuated in an exaggerated way, giving the work an expressive and surreal character.
Enrico Baj (1924-2003) was an eclectic Italian artist, known for his versatility as a painter, sculptor, and essayist. After starting studies in Medicine and then Law, he decided to dedicate himself entirely to his passion for art by attending the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan.
His artistic career was characterized by continuous experimentation and the exploration of different techniques and materials. He collaborated with numerous Italian and foreign poets and writers, including André Breton, Marcel Duchamp, and Umberto Eco, contributing with his illustrations to editions of classic and modern texts.
Among his most significant initiatives are the Nuclear Painting Movement and the International Movement for an Imaginist Bauhaus, which testify to his commitment in the field of artistic avant-garde. His works ranged from informal to surrealism, using techniques such as dripping, collage, and inlay, and heterogeneous materials such as wood, fabric, and plastic.
Deeply influenced by surrealism and Dadaism, Baj created art that reflected a critical and provocative vision of the modern world and technology. He explored social and political themes, expressing a constant search for truth through the representation of the nuclear man and his space. His artistic production stood out for his ability to transform reality into monstrous and grotesque visions, highlighting the predominance of form over substance in the contemporary era.
The work measures 38 cm H, 29 cm L and 10 cm D with pedestal; 3 cm D without pedestal.
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