Italian painter, sculptor and collagist, born in 1924 and lived in Milan. Studied at the Accademia di Belle Arte di Brera, Milan, from 1945 to 1948, while also studying law at Milan University. Increasingly interested in surface textures, Baj produced his first collages and assemblages in 1955. His role in the development of "Assemblage" was already recognized in the USA, in 1961, when he was included in the exhibition "The Art of Assemblage", organized by the MOMA, New York. He continued to do experiments with new materials in the 1960s including shards of broken mirror, children's toys, etc. In 1969 he presented reincarnations of works populated by his own characteristic figures, most notably his gigantic versions of Picasso's Guernica. His art combines grotesque imagery with humour. Major exhibitions include Miami Center for the Fine Arts, in 1985.