"La ricerca del colore" belongs to a group of serial studies of the color spectrum that were created between 1966 and 1970. The title is poetically ambiguous, because it can be translated as "exploring colour" as well as "searching for colour".
Dadamaino explained her concept of this series as follows:
"Considering the colour combinations caused essentially by the combination of intuition and taste, I found it useful to do an effective research on colours to verify the real relationship between them. So I used the seven colours of the spectrum looking for the average value, plus white, black and brown. Ten multiplied by ten. Then the gradation of the maximum to the minimum on a base colour background which is forty variations as a visible average. There are therefore 100 tablets of 20 x 20 cm containing 4000 shades. Each tablet is divided into two parts with eighty spaces alternating between the background colour and the one analyzed, so that for each tone it is possible to check the chrome value."
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The present artwork has been recognised by the Archivio Dadamaino, but it does not yet have an archive number. Bonhams submitted it to the archives at the time, who recognised the artwork as authentic, but Bonhams did not pursue the archival process. There is written correspondence with the archives confirming this. Getting confirmation of the archive number from the Archivio Dadamaino is only a matter of form.
