Valérie Costa

One of the traits that Arte Povera artists have in common is to deconstruct things and not to privilege the material as an end in itself. It is likely that, among the artists of the movement, there is also a distinction between material and materiality. Arte povera artists, for example, do not have sculpture as their goal. Rather, they seek the process, the experience; rather, they have a critical look at aesthetic production. To borrow the word, they are rather ‘anaesthetic’. As in a certain way, moreover, Celant recognised in the intuition of his exhibition ‘IM spatio, image, space’ the search for a different dimension. Besides questioning the material, the primacy of experience, which seems to me absolutely fundamental, the duality between man and nature, there is the refutation of the concept of stability, the impermanence of things. This analytical and conceptual dimension is in Italy a way of positioning itself in relation to the dominance of a model that would come from America. Text in English and French.

This catalogue for a show at the Tornabuoni Gallery in Paris pays homage to two outstanding Italian women artists of the second half of the 20th century, Carla Accardi Dadamaino (Eduarda Emilia Maino). Both embraced avant-garde art and theory while remaining free of dogmatism, and explored the characteristics and possibilities of painting and signs while forging their own distinct paths. They shared a strong belief in social and political involvement, and left an enduring mark on the history of art. In this book, their creative journey is beautifully illustrated with a vast selection of works and through contextual critical analyses. Text in English and French.