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We here at the SFist are big fans of all things fist-y, and when we heard about the De Young’s latest acquisition, appropriately titled Fist, we had to go see what it was all about. In short, the bronze sculpture by Surrealist artist Enrico Donati has to be about the fugliest thing we’ve ever seen. It’s big and green and has two very creepy glass eyes attached to it in a way that makes the giant hand seem like it’s looking right at you. We didn’t want to be too quick to judge, however, and the more we gave it a chance, the more it became sort of endearing. The “face” appears to be jovial, like it’s just having a good laugh after one too many at the bar. Sort of like us at Thursday night happy hour. And that's why we've decided to adopt the creature as our unofficial mascot.
The Fist is currently on view at the Weinstein Gallery in Union Square as part of a Donati retrospective until it makes its final home at the De Young. The Milan-born Donati appeared on the art scene with his imaginative works at just the right time and caught the eye of Surrealist founder, Andre Breton, who took the young artist under his wing and introduced him to the likes of Marcel Duchamp and Max Ernst. While the Surrealist movement died a few years later, Donati’s career took off through these connections and he continued in the veins of Constructivism and Abstract Expressionism throughout much of his life.
Image: Fist, Bronze and glass, 1946
SFist Shelley, contributing
Speculation about the meaning of Fist has only increased over the years. Surrealism based its roots in Communism and some see it as the fist of revolution personified. Others see it as simply part of Donati’s disquieting and bizarre dreamscape. Either way, it’s a force to be reckoned with and likely the most well known of Donati’s work to date. Debuted in 1947 at the historic Internationale du Surréalisme exhibition in Paris, Fist became one of the most talked about pieces at the show and still remains an enigma. Which is sort of funny when you realize this piece looks like it could be a character on Sesame Street.
Donati himself has been vague when referring to the piece, at one time saying, “Am I an artistic anarchist? Maybe. I think back to that green fist I made in 1946. Then I remember: a sure hand is always open.” So perhaps not even the artist fully knows its meaning, and the possibility that this googley-eyed form was created of its own design just makes us love it that much more.
So if you find yourself in Union Square, step into the bright, cheery Weinstein space and say hello to our new friend, Fist, and while you’re at it, spend some time with the exhibition. Donati’s colorful paintings use materials like sand and fibers to give them a beautifully textural and organic feel.
Enrico Donati: A Retrospective 1942-2001
July 16-August 16
Weinstein Gallery
301 Geary Street
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