This catalogue is an extension of the book Giorgio Griffa: Works 1965–2015. Published on the occasion of the cycle of exhibitions dedicated to the work of Giorgio Griffa at Centre d’Art Contemporain, Geneva; Museu de Arte Contemporanea de Serralves, Porto; Bergen Kunsthall; and Fondazione Giuliani, Rome in 2015 and 2016.

From 1967 through to his most recent works, Giorgio Griffa’s painting studies have been based upon three fundamental areas of enquiry: rhythm, sequence and sign. Griffa uses a similar protocol when creating his works on paper, which have very rarely been exhibited and have remained virtually unknown to the public. One need only look through the critical literature devoted to his work, or at the long list of solo and group exhibitions he has been involved in, to see the extent to which drawing is taken into consideration only very occasionally and marginally, even by his closest commentators. However, it seems clear from the quantity and especially the quality of these works that drawing and watercolour are not just some secondary activity for this artist, or in any way subordinate to painting. As Griffa himself points out in a recent interview with Hans Ulrich Obrist, drawing is not a ‘plan for a painting,’ even though in many cases it does provide ideas for later works. Rather, it is an autonomous aspect of his work and a kind of parallel activity to painting.