ONLY ONE

There are works that do not require comparison.
Not because they stand alone, but because they are foundational.

Sabbia (1952) belongs to the crucial years in which Alberto Burri definitively redefined the language of painting, replacing representation with matter itself. In these early material works, sand, oil and pigment are not applied elements, but structural components, shaping the surface as a physical and conceptual field.

Executed in 1952, this work originates from the very core of Burri’s early material research, developed in direct dialogue with the Muffe, Catrami and the earliest Sacchi, today widely regarded as among the most radical and influential achievements of post-war European art. In this period Burri does not experiment, he establishes a language.

The strength of Sabbia lies in its compositional balance and in the controlled tension between chromatic fields and dense material presence. The surface is never decorative; it is essential, austere, and resolved. An orizontal format, rare and ambitious for works of this period, gives the painting a distinctly museum-scale presence.

The importance of the work is further reinforced by its distinguished provenance, having belonged to Mr. and Mrs. Walter Bareiss, among the most influential American collectors and early supporters of European Art Informel. From its earliest history, the work has therefore been situated within a highly selective and international collecting context.

Sabbia is extensively documented in the critical literature and is included in the Fondazione Palazzo Albizzini – Collezione Burri, Catalogo Sistematico (no. 98). It is also published in seminal texts by Cesare Brandi, Maurizio Calvesi, and Pierre Restany / Russoli, confirming its full historical and scholarly recognition.

Today, early material works by Burri from the early 1950s are rarely available on the market. When they appear, they are sought after by collectors and institutions alike, aware that such works represent not a phase, but a turning point.

Only One is conceived to focus attention on a single, decisive work—inviting the market to look closely, to recognise its significance, and to respond accordingly.