An ongoing exhibition since March 1, 2018, Magazzino presents a comprehensive panorama on the artistic practice of 12 artists associated with the Arte Povera movement: Giovanni Anselmo, Alighiero Boetti, Pier Paolo Calzolari, Luciano Fabro, Jannis Kounellis, Mario Merz, Marisa Merz, Giulio Paolini, Pino Pascali, Giuseppe Penone, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Gilberto Zorio.
This exhibition, ongoing exhibition since March 1, 2018, represents the Olnick Spanu Collection’s core of postwar Italian art, allowing the space to be an environment solely devoted to this generation of Italian artists. Their work came at a defining moment in the 1960s, as Italy was transitioning into an era of burgeoning industrialization, student rebellion, and a decline of the “economic miracle” of the 1950s allowed by the Marshall Plan. The artists aimed to eradicate the boundaries between media as well as between nature and art under the mantra “Art is Life.”
The term Arte Povera, coined by art critic Germano Celant in 1967 to mean “impoverished art,” grew out of the radical stance artists were taking in response to their dissatisfaction with the values established by political, industrial and cultural institutions in Italy. Following the movement’s inception by Celant, 1968 was a year of seismic social and political change across the globe which percolated into the time's art scene.
The exhibition Arte Povera, 50 years later, presents 76 artworks in a variety of formal and conceptual approaches in all mediums – ranging from painting, sculpture, photography, works on paper and installations—in an effort to display the evolution of each artist’s career over time.
Installation view of the exhibition Arte Povera at Magazzino Italian Art, Cold Spring, New York. Photo by Marco Anelli/Tommaso Sacconi. Installation view of the exhibition Arte Povera at Magazzino Italian Art, Cold Spring, New York. Photo by Marco Anelli/Tommaso Sacconi. Installation view of the exhibition Arte Povera at Magazzino Italian Art, Cold Spring, New York. Photo by Marco Anelli/Tommaso Sacconi. Installation view of the exhibition Arte Povera at Magazzino Italian Art, Cold Spring, New York. Photo by Marco Anelli/Tommaso Sacconi. Installation view of the exhibition Arte Povera at Magazzino Italian Art, Cold Spring, New York. Photo by Marco Anelli/Tommaso Sacconi. Installation view of the exhibition Arte Povera at Magazzino Italian Art, Cold Spring, New York. Photo by Marco Anelli/Tommaso Sacconi. Installation view of the exhibition Arte Povera at Magazzino Italian Art, Cold Spring, New York. Photo by Marco Anelli/Tommaso Sacconi. Installation view of the exhibition Arte Povera at Magazzino Italian Art, Cold Spring, New York. Photo by Marco Anelli/Tommaso Sacconi. Installation view of the exhibition Arte Povera at Magazzino Italian Art, Cold Spring, New York. Photo by Marco Anelli/Tommaso Sacconi. Installation view of the exhibition Arte Povera at Magazzino Italian Art, Cold Spring, New York. Photo by Marco Anelli/Tommaso Sacconi. Installation view of the exhibition Arte Povera at Magazzino Italian Art, Cold Spring, New York. Photo by Alexa Hoyer. Installation view of the exhibition Arte Povera at Magazzino Italian Art, Cold Spring, New York. Photo by Marco Anelli/Tommaso Sacconi. Installation view of the exhibition Arte Povera at Magazzino Italian Art, Cold Spring, New York. Photo by Marco Anelli/Tommaso Sacconi. Installation view of the exhibition Arte Povera at Magazzino Italian Art, Cold Spring, New York. Photo by Marco Anelli/Tommaso Sacconi. Enjoy a virtual tour of our exhibition space below, exploring the seven galleries of Arte Povera works on view.
