Italian Art 1970 – 2024

The Margulies Collection presents “Italian Art 1970–2024”, an exhibition tracing the legacy of Arte Povera and its ongoing influence on contemporary Italian practice. Grounded in the radical spirit of the 1960s movement—where artists subverted traditional art-making through “poor” and ephemeral materials—the presentation brings together historic works and recent pieces that expand this lineage.

The exhibition features Michelangelo Pistoletto’s “Color and Light” (2024), a work combining jute, mirror and paint within a gilded frame, shown alongside “Two Less One” (2009) to situate his contemporary practice within its broader history. A 1971 frosted refrigerator-motor sculpture by Pier Paolo Calzolari offers an early counterpoint to his 2021 paintings made with salt, shells, wood and flame, highlighting the material experimentation central to his work.

Further contributions by Jannis Kounellis, Mario Merz, Maurizio Pellegrin, Mimmo Paladino, Pier Paolo Calzolari, Bertozzi & Casoni, Giulio Paolini, Gilberto Zorio and Luciano Fabro reveal the movement’s enduring impact. Together, the works underscore the Collection’s long-standing engagement with Italian art and its commitment to presenting practices that continue to shape contemporary material and conceptual approaches.