This chronology comes from an exhibition catalogue - details unfortunately not noted.
Enrico Baj Chronology 1924-1977
1924 Born, Milan, October 31.
1938 Begins painting studying at the Brera Academy in Milan.
1950 Produces the first "Nuclear" paintings.
1951 In Milan with Sergio Dangelo promotes the "Nuclear Art Movement."
1952 March, in Brussels with Sergio Dangelo publishes the first Nuclear Painting Manifesto. Other artists join the movement and Baj and Dangelo arrange a long series of exhibitions of their work. Contacts made with other avant garde artists throughout the world.
1953 Joins and promotes the "Mouvement pour une Bauhaus Imaginiste" founded by Asger Jorn in opposition to Max Bill's "New Bauhaus" in Ulm.
1954 With Jorn, founds the "Incontri Internazionali della Ceramica" in Albisola Mare in which such artists as Fontana, Dangelo, Appel, Corneille, Matta and Jaguer participated.
1955 Founds in Milan in collaboration with Sergio Dangelo and Edouard Jaguer the Magazine Il Gesto.
Begins to make use of collage in his work.
1956 First large monograph on his work published by Edizioni Schettini.
1957 September, in Milan, writes and publishes the manifesto, Contro lo Stile which is signed by many avant garde artists including Dangelo, Hundertwasser, Arnaldo and Gio Pomodoro, Theodore Koenig, Reinhoud D'Haese and Yves Klein.
"Mountain" pictures begin this year.
1958 Begins experiments with paints and invents his "heavy waters" used extensively in the "mountains."
1959 January, in Naples, writes and publishes the Naples Manifesto.
"Mirror" paintings incorporating cut and recomposed mirrors are begun and in carrying ahead the process of anthropomorphization implicit in the "Mountain" pictures, begins to work on his "Generals", a series largely to be developed in later years, the series of "Ladies" and "Decorated Persons" are begun as well as "collage modifications" of street paintings and local landscape artists. This last will be returned to in 1964.
In this year as well as in the following is in frequent contact with the French "Nouveaux Realistes," Arman, Daniel Spoerri, Cesar and Restany, and the Italians in Paris connected with them, Gianni Bertini and Mimmo Rotella.
Publishes the fourth and last issue of Il Gesto, this largely devoted to "Interplanetary Art."
Works on various "collective" paintings with Lucio Fontana.
1961 Represented in The Art of Assemblage, an exhibition organized by William Seitz at the museum of Modern Art, New York, and this occasions a first visit to New York. During this visit he is introduced to Marcel Duchamp by the Milanese dealer, Arturo Schwarz. Duchamp and Baj become friends and later visit each other frequently in Paris and Cadaques.
"Furniture" pieces begun this year and these develop into "characters" the following year.
1962 In Paris, Arturo Schwartz introduces Baj to Andre Breton who invites him to participate in the exhibitions of the Surrealist Movement. Breton writes a long essay on Baj's work for the July, 1963, issue of L'Oeil. The meeting with Breton is significant because of the ties between Baj's work and Surrealism and because of the close contacts and collaborations between Baj and numerous poets to which it led.
1963 With several others and in agreement with the College de Pataphysique in France, Baj founds the Instituto Patafisico Milanese.
Meets Max Ernst in Paris who offers him his old studio in which Baj lives and works for long periods till 1966.
This year he shows works made with lego sets and begins to make works with erector sets; these works carried forward in 1964 and 1965.
1964 Has a room at the Venice Biennale.
1965 First retrospective of his work, Omaggio a Baj, as part of the international exhibition, Alternative Attuali, Castello Spagnolo, L'Aquila.
1966 Undertakes first multiples in collaboration with MAT Editions.
1967 Large retrospective of his work held at the museums of The Hague and Ghent.
He develops interest in plastic and works are made in this material through 1970.
1968 Turns to major concern with the reelaboration of the works of Picasso and this continues in the following years.
1969 The reworkings of Picasso's works exhibited at Galerie Creuzevault in Paris including the full scale remake of Guernica.
1970 Jean Petit's first volume of the catalogue raisonne of Baj's graphics and multiples is published.
Baj returns to the theme of the "mirrors."
1971 Three major retrospectives of Baj's work held: Musee de l'Athenee, Geneva (graphics); Palazzo Grassi, Venice; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago.
Reelaborations of the works of Seurat begin.
1972 Baj's largest collage, The Funerals of the Anarchist Pinelli, completed.
1973 Baj travels in Europe in conjunction with the exhibition of The Funerals of the Anarchist Pinelli at the Museum Boymans van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Moderna Museet, Stockholm and the Kunsthalle, Dusseldorf.
The catalogue of Baj's complete work published by Bolaffi Publishing House in Turin simultaneously with an American edition.
1974 Work begins on the series of "Rope Ladies."
Volume two of Jean Petit's catalogue raisonne of Baj's graphics and multiples is published covering the peiod 1970-1973.
1976 Travels to New York.
1977 Trips to Mexico, Egypt and other countries in Africa to visit ancient civilizations.