Andrea Cascella, untitled bronze sculpture, 1988

Born in 1919 in Pescara, Andrea Cascella trained in the family studio under the guidance of his father and grandfather Basilio, a renowned artist. Initially, he focused on painting. He later won a scholarship to the Royal School of Ceramics in Faenza, where he studied under the master Domenico Rambelli. During World War II, he actively participated in combat as a member of the Italian Army. This temporarily halted his artistic production. With the end of the war, he moved to Rome with his brother Pietro, where they worked together in ceramics. In 1949, he held his first solo exhibition at the Galleria dell'Obelisco in Rome, presenting paintings and ceramics. In the following years, his interest shifted more towards sculpture. He moved to Milan in the 1950s, where he became a renowned exponent of European abstract art. He participated in significant projects, such as the Auschwitz monument, designed with his brother Pietro. In 1964, he won the Grand Prize for Sculpture at the Venice Biennale, cementing his reputation. From 1970, he taught at the Academy of Fine Arts in L'Aquila and then became the director of the Academy of Fine Arts of Brera in Milan. In 1972, he was appointed Commissioner of the Venice Biennale. The artist died suddenly on August 26, 1990, in his studio in Milan.
Cascella is considered one of the leading figures of European Abstractionism in sculpture; throughout his career, he worked with a variety of techniques and materials, ranging from ceramics to marble and bronze, creating works that combine abstract forms with elements inspired by nature and geometry. One of the artist's most famous works is the Auschwitz Monument, designed and built by his brother Pietro Cascella. Another work he created is the Fountain in Piazza Leonardo in Milan. Other works by the artist are exhibited at the Museo del Novecento in Milan, at the GNAM in Rome, and at the Ceramics Museum in Faenza.