“Murena” — Alberto Cabiddu wall sculpture, 1999, Pietra di Vicenza & Ebonized wood

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 “Murena” — Alberto Cabiddu wall sculpture, 1999, Pietra di Vicenza & Ebonized wood

Dimensions: H. 37 x W. 100 x D. 7 cm (H. 14.6 x W. 39.4 x D. 2.75 in)

“Murena” is a rare wall-mounted sculpture by Italian artist Alberto Cabiddu, carved in 1999 from Pietra di Vicenza — the honey-toned limestone long favored by Renaissance architects — and set against a black-lacquered wood ground. Stretching a full meter across the wall, the piece takes its name and rhythm from the moray eel: a sinuous, undulating silhouette that coils and knots across the panel, its pale stone body punctuated by voids that let the black backing bite through like shadow or negative space.

Cabiddu’s language here is instantly recognizable — soft, biomorphic volumes carved with an almost hand-worn tactility, floating against a hard graphic ground. The dialogue between the two materials is the real subject of the work: warm, porous, sunlit stone against cool, matte black lacquer; mass against void; organic curve against architectural edge. Comparisons to Jean Arp’s biomorphic reliefs or Hans Arp’s cut-paper compositions come to mind, filtered through Cabiddu’s own late-1990s vocabulary of stacked, rhythmic form.

As with all of Cabiddu’s sculptures, this is a unique, one-of-a-kind work — the artist has never worked in editions. Signed by the artist. A striking, sculptural presence for a hallway, stairwell, or gallery wall, “Murena” reads equally well as fine art or as a signature piece of postmodern Italian design.

Condition: Excellent, consistent with age. Ready to hang.

About the Artist

Alberto Cabiddu was born in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1966, and found his way to art early, encouraged by a teacher who spotted his talent when he was just ten. After a youth more focused on music, his interest in drawing resurfaced in his late teens, taking him through courses in Paris and Geneva. In 1987 he relocated to the province of Vicenza, Italy, where he discovered the local Pietra di Vicenza and began experimenting with it alongside marble, wood, and clay. Though he studied briefly with sculptor Agostino Gallio and ceramicist Antonio Visentin, Cabiddu is largely self-taught.

For decades, Cabiddu worked in near total privacy, uninterested in exhibiting or promoting his sculpture — choosing instead to quietly develop a singular body of work defined by biomorphic form, architectural clarity, and the tension between organic stone and rigid, dark wood grounds. Only in recent years has a small body of this work begun reaching collectors, making early, signed pieces like “Murena” genuinely scarce.

The sculpture will be shipped insured overseas in a custom made wooden crate. Cost of transport to the US, Euro 375, is crate included.

Colors may slightly vary due to photographic lighting sources or your monitor settings. 

Wear consistent with age and use.

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