Iridescent Interpenetration


Iridescent Interpenetration is the title of several artworks and studies in a series by Italian Futurist painter Giacomo Balla, created between 1912 and 1914, which feature intersecting triangles and other geometric patterns in kaleidoscopic color.
In Iridescent Interpenetration, Balla attempts to separate the experience of light from the perception of objects as such, in an approach he had experimented with in Welcome to Düsseldorf. The works suggest an extension of the pictured surface beyond the borders of the frame.
The earliest known study in the series was on a postcard which Balla mailed to his friend and student Gino Galli on November 21, 1912. He referred to the images as iride.
Works in the series include:
TitleYearDimensionsMaterialGalleryReferences
Iridescent Interpenetration No. 11912oil and wax crayon on canvasLydia Winston Malbin Collection
Compenetrazione iridiscente n. 4 – studio della luce
1912 or 1913oil and pencil on paperGalleria Civica d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Turin, Italy
Iridescent Interpenetration No.5 – Eucalyptus1914oil on canvas
Iridescent Interpenetration No. 71912oil on canvasGalleria Civica d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Turin, Italy
Iridescent Interpenetration1913
Iridescent Compenetration1913watercolor on paperprivate collection
Compenetrazione iridescente n. 13
1914
Study for Compenetrazione iridiscente1912pencil and watercolor on paperGalleria Civica d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Turin, Italy
Study for Compenetrazione iridiscente
1912pencil and watercolor on paperGalleria Civica d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Turin, Italy
Study for Compenetrazione iridiscente n. 2 1912pencil and watercolor on paperGalleria Civica d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Turin, Italy