‘Arte Povera’ Takes Over Paris’ Bourse de Commerce

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As a connoisseur of art history, who’s spent countless hours immersed in the narratives and movements that have shaped our visual landscape, I am utterly captivated by the Arte Povera exhibition at Paris’ Bourse de Commerce. This show is a testament to the power of simplicity and the beauty that lies in the raw and the real.

During the mid-1900s, significant changes occurred globally, often referred to as tectonic shifts. The devastating war that claimed the most human lives had left Europe and large parts of Asia in shambles, paving the way for new economic and ideological ideas that have since influenced our world. In post-war Italy, a group of artists emerged who opposed the urban growth, industrialization, and Western consumer culture permeating everyday life. Instead, they championed Arte Povera, an art form known as “poor art” in Italian, which rejected conventional mediums and fought against a world increasingly dominated by commercial art and methods.

The Bourse de Commerce in Paris is hosting a fresh group exhibition titled “Revisiting Arte Povera,” featuring works from 13 key figures who originated this movement. This show will offer various sculptures, canvases, and installations by artists such as Giovanni Anselmo, Alighiero Boetti, Pier Paolo Calzolari, Luciano Fabro, Jannis Kounellis, Mario Merz, Marisa Merz, Giulio Paolini, Pino Pascali, Giuseppe Penone, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Emilio Prini and Gilberto Zorio.

250 pieces crafted by artists using basic materials and methods are currently on display at the institution’s Tadao Ando-designed rotunda. These works engage in a conversation, exploring the roots of Arte Povera and its influence on contemporary art. As curator Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev explains, these installations draw viewers into the work itself. The artists favor natural and rural elements, such as earth, vegetables, water, coal, trees, animals, and humans, as well as artificial and urban elements like stainless steel plates, lead ingots, light bulbs, wooden beams, neon tubes, etc. Their pieces stimulate physical, chemical, and even emotional responses in viewers, invoking notions of memory and feelings to challenge the onlookers.

Arte Povera will be on view in Paris until January 20, 2025.

Bourse de Commerce
2 Rue de Viarmes,
75001 Paris, France

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2024-10-30 01:55