G. A. Cavellini (GAC)

Guglielmo Achille Cavellini (1914-1990) started his activity in the art world in 1946 as a collector. His collection, which was initially based upon a large selection of Italian and European abstract art, soon became so important that it was exhibited in 1957 at the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna in Rome and in numerous other museums throughout Europe.

 
Some of the pictures from the Cavellini collection. From the left:
Vedova (1953), Hartung (1951), Burri (1955), Warhol (1975)

In 1960 GAC concentrated on his artistic production and for the entire decade centered his research on materials and relations with other significant contemporary artists in the form of reinterpretations of their works.

 
Some of the works by Cavellini. From the left:
Corrugated iron with toy train (1965), Homage to Morandi (1969),
Proposal no. 23. Work by Kandinsky sectioned by Cavellini (1970)

In 1970 he invented the term autostoricizzazione (self-historicization) and from that point on he started a long work of conceptual self-promotion, which sought to by-pass the roles of the critic and of the market, thus focusing, often ironically, on the mechanisms of the system of art. Particularly interesting examples from this phase include the Standards at the entrance of the museums, the Self-portraits, the Postage Stamps, the Stickers the Postcards, the Manifestos, which the most exclusive museums in the world would dedicate to the exibitions celebrating Cavellini's centenary, and the page of the Encyclopedia, where he rewrote his biography in an ironic and surreal manner.

Some of the works on self-historicization. From the left: Manifesto of the Museum of Modern Art (1971), Standard (1972), Self-portrait (1985)