Italian sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro, renowned for his huge bronze spheres, died at the weekend, a day before his 99th birthday, his foundation said on Monday. Born in the northern region of Emilia-Romagna on June 23, 1926, Pomodoro began investigating solid geometric forms in the early 1960s.

He created monumental spheres, cones, columns and cubes in polished bronze, whose perfectly smooth exteriors split open to reveal interiors that were corroded, torn or simply hollowed out. This “contrast between the smooth perfection of the geometric form and the chaotic complexity of the interior” became his trademark, the Milan-based foundation said on its website. Prime Minister Georgia Meloni said on X that Pomodoro, who died at his home in Milan on Sunday, had “sculpted Italy’s soul”.

“The art world has lost one of its most influential, insightful and visionary voices,” added foundation director Carlotta Montebello. Pomodoro was one of Italy’s most prominent contemporary artists. He won numerous awards and taught at Stanford University, Berkley and Mills College in the United States. His iconic works grace public spaces the world over - at the Vatican in Rome, the United Nations and the Guggenheim Museum in New York, UNESCO headquarters in Paris, the Universal Exhibition in Shanghai and Trinity College Dublin. — AFP