Hyperallergic: An Italian Artist Who Took On American Capitalism

COLD SPRING, New York — In 2020, when I learned that the Italian artist Mario Schifano (1934–1989) had collaborated with the poet Frank O’Hara (1926–1966), I ordered a copy of Words & Drawings from Archivio Mario Schifano, which documented the collaborative work. Little did I know that I would be able to see all of the work in the exhibition Facing America: Mario Schifano 1960–65, at the Center for Italian Modern Art (January 14–November 13, 2021), curated by Francesco Guzzetti.

I was reminded of Words & Drawings when I saw Mario Schifano: The Rise of the ’60s in the newly opened Robert Olnick Pavilion of the Magazzino Italian Art museum and research center, curated by Alberto Salvadori. Comprised of nearly 80 works dated between 1960 and the ’70s, the exhibition is the fullest view to date of this decade in Schifano’s career. It likely will be a long time before we get such a sweeping survey of his work of this period again.