London, Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art shows »Breaking Lines«

On experimental and concrete poetry

With the innovative exhibition Breaking Lines, the Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art in London is turning the spotlight on particular forms of expression in poetry. From January 15, the show will focus on Italian Futurism and the work of Dom Sylvester Houédard.

January 15, 2025
Carlo Carra, Atmospheric Swirls – A Burning Shell, 1914
Courtesy Estorick Collection
Carlo Carra, Atmospheric Swirls – A Burning Shell, 1914

Italian Futurism is famous as a movement of visual art. However, in addition to painters, many writers were also supporters of the group - it was even founded and led by the poet Filippo Tommaso Marinetti. The manifesto of 1909 refers several times to poetry, but not to painting. However, painting, like sculpture, developed into one of the leading art movements of Futurism. The exhibition Breaking Lines at the Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art in London now focuses on one of Futurism's original concerns: experimental poetry, which aimed to »redouble the expressive force of words«. The art exhibition, which shows works that have received little museum attention to date, runs from January 15 to May 11.

The second part of the Breaking Lines show is dedicated to a related theme: Dom Sylvester Houédard and Concrete Poetry in Post-war Britain. Houédard (1924-1992) was a Benedictine monk and theologian and is considered one of the most important representatives of Concrete Poetry, in which the boundary between literature and visual art becomes blurred. Houédard was influenced by experimental poetry, which developed into a global phenomenon in the first half of the 20th century. His works appeared in various magazines and journals from the 1960s onwards. In 1965, together with Jasia Reichardt, he published the book Between Poetry and Painting about the connection between these two art forms.Art.Salon

Dom Sylvester Houédard, Untitled, Circa 1967, detail
© Lisson Gallery. Courtesy Lisson Gallery
Dom Sylvester Houédard, Untitled, Circa 1967, detail. Typed page

Recent auction results of Dom Sylvester Houédard

Dom Sylvester Houédard - Optical Art
Auction
First Open | London
April 2016
Christies, London
Est.: 1.500 - 2.000 GBP
Realised: 4.375 GBP
Details
Dom Sylvester Houédard - (i) Untitled (ii) Untitled
Auction
First Open/LDN
September 2014
Christies, London
Est.: 800 - 1.200 GBP
Realised: 5.000 GBP
Details
Dom Sylvester Houédard - (I) Untitled (Oval With Two Supporting Lines) (II) Untitled (Cube And Circle)
Auction
Post-War and Contemporary Art
April 2013
Christies, London
Est.: 2.000 - 2.500 GBP
Realised: 2.500 GBP
Details

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