The Venue
Sfera grande was created for the national competition held in 1965 by the Ministry of Public Works, as part of the refurbishing of Palazzo della Farnesina. It was exhibited for the first time in occasion of Montreal Universal Exposition in 1967. It represents the first major commission of Arnaldo Pomodoro and marks the passage from sculptural to monumental dimension. The work, existing in several versions, consists of a sphere that opens, revealing an inner mechanism and playing with smoothness of the external shape and the complexity hidden in the interior. The work rests on a 14 square metres marble basin.