Bice Lazzari

Bice Lazzari (Venice, November 15, 1900 – Rome, November 13, 1981) was a leading figure in 20th-century Italian art, known for her independence and modernity in a period when the art world was largely inaccessible to women. Born into a bourgeois family of merchants and construction entrepreneurs, she began her artistic education at the Benedetto Marcello Conservatory and later at the Venice Academy of Fine Arts, where she attended decoration courses from 1916, as painting classes with nude models were deemed inappropriate for a young lady of her social standing.
Her early career focused on figurative painting, with exhibitions starting in the 1920s, but she soon moved towards abstract and conceptual painting, anticipating contemporary trends. Lazzari also worked in applied arts, collaborating with prominent architects of the 1930s and 1940s, a field considered more suitable for female artists at the time. She was part of the vibrant Venetian cultural scene, including the Artistic Circle of Palazzo dei Piombi, and developed relationships with figures such as Carlo Scarpa and Virgilio Guidi, which influenced her artistic development.
During the 1960s and 1970s, Bice Lazzari developed a distinctive sign-based poetics characterized by geometric and abstract compositions, becoming an iconic figure in Italian abstract art. Her work has been widely exhibited and studied, and her archive, preserved in Rome, is recognized for its significant historical value.