- Cas Gasi -
Franco Monti – The positive effects of art

The rooms of Cas Gasi are filled with beloved artworks collected over decades. It’s in recent years that owner Margaret von Korff has started to cast her eye towards the gardens, seeking out pieces that complement the lushness of the estate. Her first acquisition was the gorgeous Franco Monti sculpture that sits pride of place near the entrance.

Monti was always a singular voice, never linked to any artistic schools or groups – he persistently perused his own vision throughout his career. Born in Milan in 1931, Monti showed an interest in art and sculpture from a very young age. Attracted by the forms and stories of African sculpture and masks, he studied the artistic legacies of cultures from sub-Saharan Africa, Peru, Mexico and Papua, becoming a well-known expert in the field.

Professionally he contributed to various books, conferences, exhibitions and journals on the topic of tribal sculpture before finally settling in Ibiza in the 1980s where he was able to focus solely on his own work. The influence of Africa is less so in the final shape and form of Monti’s work; more in the way in which he produced. Long periods of meditative contemplation of an idea results in a comparatively quick execution of the final piece.

He worked in many materials, finally settling on concrete as the medium from which he was best able to convey his ideas of form, texture and colour. Tinted with mineral pigment, Monti was able to channel the colours of his beloved tribal influences. The stele in the Cas Gasi garden is a form of monument to the artist and to the positive effect art can have on all of us on a daily basis. Next time you walk past, stop, feel free to touch and connect to the inferred history of human kind hidden in its form.