In 1944, Deluigi held his first solo exhibition at the Galleria del Cavallino, a significant milestone in his career. Two years later, in 1946, he co-founded the Free School of Plastic Arts (Scuola Libera di Arti Plastiche) in Venice with architect Carlo Scarpa and artist Anton Giulio Ambrosini, demonstrating his commitment to nurturing creative innovation and education. That same year, he began teaching scenography at the University Institute of Architecture in Venice, where he would remain until 1971, shaping generations of students with his progressive ideas. He also won two major prizes: the Premio Burano in 1946 and the Premio Abano in 1947, solidifying his position as an artist of national acclaim.
In the early 1950s, Deluigi transitioned increasingly toward abstraction, aligning himself with the Spatialist movement, which sought to explore the dynamic relationship between art, space, and technology. He signed the Manifesto dell’Arte Spaziale (Manifesto of Spatial Art) in 1951 and the Manifesto del Movimento Spaziale per la Televisione (Manifesto of the Spatial Movement for Television) in 1952, positioning himself at the forefront of avant-garde artistic discourse.
A hallmark of Deluigi’s artistic innovation was his pioneering use of grattage, a technique involving scraping layers of paint to create textured, luminous effects. This approach reached a mature form in his series Motivi sui Vuoti, exhibited at the 1954 Venice Biennale, which showcased his exploration of light, voids, and spatial dynamics. His work from this period underscored his ability to transcend traditional methods, creating compositions that were simultaneously tactile and ethereal.
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Deluigi continued to refine his artistic investigations into the interplay of light, space, and abstraction. He participated in numerous national and international exhibitions, earning widespread recognition for his contributions to modern art.
Mario Deluigi passed away in Venice in 1978.