Among the most original contemporary sculptors and a prominent figure on the international art scene, Mario Ceroli (Italy, Castel Frentano, 1938) draws on matter, manual skill, and the idea of “theatricality” as a “representation of life.” While not being a general catalogue, this monograph provides the first overview of his work from 1955 to 2025. Cesare Biasini Selvaggi’s historical-critical analysis spans seventy years of research, from the ground zero of figuration with figures/silhouettes (his idea of emptying the image and grasping its essential sign through shadow) to the creation of spatial-architectural machines, from scenosculpture—or the relocation of event-space into the theater—to contemporary actionsculpture, and overseas happenings and performances. Some sort of “total sculpture” described by a surprising corpus of photographs, followed at the end of the book by the appendices with the lists of solo and group exhibitions; set designs for theater, cinema, and television; installations; essential bibliography.
