MILAN — Italian sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro was perhaps best known for his monumental, poetically cracked and hallowed bronze spheres at the United Nations Plaza in New York and Palais-Royal in Paris. Few know that he began his career as a goldsmith and restorer, which was evidenced in his early works from the ’50s.
An exhibit set to open Friday in Milan’s Gallerie d’Italia, located adjacent to Milan’s majestic La Scala opera house, is getting ready to give the art world a comprehensive view of his long career that ended in June 2025, on the eve of his 99th birthday.
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Titled “Arnaldo Pomodoro. Una Vita (Italian for ‘A Life’),” his spheres, columns and reliefs and more will be on view until Oct. 18. Organized by Intesa Sanpaolo in collaboration with the Arnaldo Pomodoro Foundation, the exhibition brings together 45 works drawn from the bank’s collection and the foundation’s holdings to trace more than six decades of Pomodoro’s career, from the 1950s through the 2000s.
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Early works include “L’incontro (Italian for ‘the Meeting’)” from 1956 made with silver and cement and “La Luna, il Sole, la Torre (Italian for ‘the Moon, the Sun and the Tower’)” from 1955 as well as seminal works like “Disco in forma di rosa del deserto n. 1 (Italian for ‘a Disk in the Form of a Desert Rose’),” a giant sphere from 1993-1994.
Curated by Luca Massimo Barbero and Federico Giani, the Milan exhibit was envisaged as an anthological portrait of the sculptor’s evolving language, pairing iconic pieces with lesser-known works and archival materials. Within many of the pieces are his grid-like codes, sculpted into nonsensical slashes and symbols that evoke the ancient writings of Mesopotamian and Sumerian cuneiform. This illegible language continues to distinguish his works on a global level.
“The idea is to amaze but not just for beauty or with the space but because we are sharing the world of Arnaldo Pomodoro… with the types of works that resonate from generation to generation,” art critic Barbero said at a press conference on Thursday.
Pomodoro, a pillar of Italian art and culture, was born in 1926, in Morciano, Emilia Romagna, Italy. He was an admirer of Pablo Picasso and studied stage design while working as a goldsmith. He settled in Milan in 1954. It was there that he met artists such as Enrico Baj, Sergio Dangelo, Lucio Fontana and designer Ettore Sottsass.
In 1966, he rose to the global stage with his first sphere for the Expo in Montreal. This was the first of a line of sculptures that would enhance important public spaces worldwide and in many major squares from Milan to Brisbane, Australia. One of his largest works ever was made for the Vatican Museums in 1990. Named “Sfera con Sfera” (Italian for ‘Sphere Within a Sphere’), it measures 13 feet. Another monumental work is situated at the Amalienborg Square in Copenhagen.