He draws from abstractionism when, at just 20 years old, he wins the competition focused on the creation of the billboard for the I.C.I. paint factory and believes in the strong interaction between advertising and painting that probably proves the quality and the value of his works that go beyond creativity and genius.
armando testa – ca pesaro venezia – sono there must be a total interaction between advertising and painting
Creativity and genius also stimulated by the limits of advertising art when, for instance, in public TV in Italy mentioning brands was somehow restricted. And many examples revolve around the world of food and wine of which some of the most creative campaigns in the sector, signed by mr. Testa, are easily remembered: from the Antonetto digestive to the Vermouth by Carpano and, again, some well-known Italian sparkling wines (Martini, Gancia, Asti Riccadonna) and then the famous Paulista coffee by Lavazza.
It is difficult to find likewise valid or at least iconic examples today in a sector in which much of the irony – that is part of certain creations – has been lost, see the Sanpellegrino (orange soda) advertisement with which they wish “happy thirst!”.
armando testa – ca pesaro venezia – san pellegrino
The Food and wine world is, if we think of (iconic and rare) wines and high-end restaurants, often characterized by magniloquence and wine bottles with easy-going labels is still not always appreciated. Testa, already in unsuspecting times, decided to strip food of all frills to exalt the typical product when in 1968 the myths of tradition were collapsing and he states “in my profession I have to exalt food every day with precious cutlery, greedy mouths, shining plates but sometimes I feel the desire to […] interpret spaghetti, fruit, ham and eggs in free and voluptuous combinations and make visual art in the kitchen”. This is how the food series of postcards with prosciutto armchair, a piece of parmesan cheese that recalls the Faraglioni of Capri (Campania, Southern Italy) or the mortadella tablecloth were born.
armando testa – ca pesaro venezia – food postcards
How current it is: this is what I think walking through the rooms filled with effective inventiveness. Such an approach would today marry shared – predominantly on a theoretical level – values such as the essentiality of Italian cuisine as well as some of the current catchphrases of wine communication such as “natural wine” or the widespread message that “wine is made in the vineyard, without too many interventions”…
Ca ‘Pesaro (Venice) inaugurates the new 2024 season with a large exhibition dedicated to Armando Testa (1917-1992): a brilliant creative from Piemonte (Northern Italy), a student of Ezio D’Errico who became a protagonist of contemporary visual culture “with masterpieces born of a plurality of expressions” as per the presentation of the Venetian exhibition itself.
