Sculpture in Action: Eliseo Mattiacci in Rome is a fresh examination of the developments in Mattiacci's sculpture from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s, dates that embrace the two decades he spent living and working in Italy's vibrant capital.
There was a celebration of Mattiacci's career with a book presentation of Sculpture in Action: Eliseo Mattiacci in Rome at 6:00 p.m., Friday, June 3, 2022, at the Italian Cultural Institute. In addition to the book presentation, addresses were be given by Lara Conte, Editor and Art Historian; Christian Rattemeyer, Independent Curator, Writer, and Translator; and Cornelia Mattiacci, Exhibition Curator at Fondazione Prada, Milan.
The book's contributors revealed how the exceptional amalgamation of studios, galleries and institutional spaces, as well as the architectural and landscape settings in Rome, played a crucial role in Mattiacci's rapid development as an artist. In the mid-1960s the city was already a major centre for art, literature, theatre and cinema, and the setting for numerous avant-garde performative 'actions' and 'happenings'. The Piazza del Popolo district, crowded with galleries and bars, was the volcanic heart for transatlantic exchanges and the latest movements, and Mattiacci soon became warmly acquainted with various gallerists and artists, including the Arte Povera practitioners Jannis Kounellis and Pino Pascali.
Edited by Lara Conte and supported by the Italian Council, a programme to promote Italian contemporary art internationally run by the Directorate-General for Contemporary Creativity of the Italian Ministry of Culture, Sculpture in Action was the result of research undertaken in dialogue with Studio Eliseo Mattiacci which led to the inclusion of unpublished photographic and documentary material. In addition to the editor's valuable commentary, Sculpture in Action offered insights into Mattiacci's work by Valérie Da Costa, Penelope Curtis and Christian Rattemeyer, together with critical testimonials by Bruno Corà, Mario Diacono, Vittorio Rubiu and Fabio Sargentini.