Ferro bifrontale arancione

Terminal 3 Boarding Area E

Pietro Consagra (1920–2005) was one of the leading figures in twentieth-century Italian abstract sculpture. A founding member of the Forma 1 Group, he developed an artistic practice that challenged the traditional conception of sculpture as monumental volume, favouring essential surfaces, compositional rhythm and a more direct relationship with the viewer.

Ferro Bifrontale Arancione (Orange Bifrontal Iron) belongs to the Bifrontali series, produced between 1968 and 2004. In these works, the distinction between front and back disappears: both sides are equally important and are intended to be viewed from multiple perspectives. The sculpture appears to change as the viewer moves around it, without privileging a single viewpoint.

First presented in 1978 at Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, the work is distinguished by its intense orange colour, which reflects the visual sensibility of the 1970s and introduces an unusual chromatic note into the artist's oeuvre. Iron, a material usually associated with industrial production, also acquires an unexpected quality: changing light continually alters its appearance, making the surface appear alive and ever-changing.

Located in the Terminal 3 Boarding Area E at Rome's Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport, the sculpture quietly accompanies travellers through the terminal. Its bifrontal structure invites viewers to consider the work from different angles, suggesting that every journey can be understood from more than one perspective. Like the act of travelling itself, the sculpture invites us to change our point of view.