About the Artist
Enrico Baj
Enrico Baj (1924 – 2003) was an Italian artist and writer on art. Many of his works show an obsession with nuclear war. He created prints, sculptures but especially collage. He was close to the surrealist and dada movements, and was later associated with CoBrA, a European avant-garde movement active from 1948 to 1951; the name was coined from the initials of the members' home cities: Copenhagen (Co), Brussels (Br), Amsterdam (A). As an author he has been described as a leading promoter of the avant-garde. He worked with Umberto Eco among other collaborators. He had a long interest in the pseudo-philosophy 'pataphysics', a literary trope that enigmatically resists being pinned down by a simple definition, and a branch of philosophy or science that examines imaginary phenomena that exist in a world beyond metaphysics; the science of imaginary solutions. In 1951 he founded the arte nucleare movement with Sergio Dangelo, which unlike abstract art was overtly political. Baj himself was aligned with the anarchist movement. His most well-known pieces are probably the series of "Generals": absurd characters made from found objects such as belts or medals.
