Mario Merz
Born – Milan, Italy 1925
Died – Milan, Italy 2003
Mario Merz made a radical artistic response to the social and political unease in Europe and America toward the end of the 1960s until the mid-1970s. In common with other Italian artists, such as Kounellis, Pascali, Paolini and Fabro, Merz re-examined and reinterpreted methods of sculptural construction. His use of banal, cheap or found objects and materials distinguished him as a leading exponent of Arte Povera (Poor Art). Referencing the principles of Duchamp and Beuys, his work was a gesture toward changing the status of art from marketable commodity to a means of expression that focused on society and its survival. The rejection of classical traditions freed Merz to symbolize fundamental and universal concerns via a diversity of form and content. Do We Turn Around Inside Houses employs a variety of unusual elements to engender a reconsideration of how we construct our lives. The beauty of the installation belies the humble nature of the materials; the construction offers associations of shelter that are symbolic rather than practical. The path to security, despite being transparent, is blocked and fraught with difficulties and inherent danger.
Masterpieces:
- Fibonacci Tables
- Igloo Di Petra
Text: The A-Z of Art, Nicola Hodge and Libby Anson.
Books About mario merz
Mario Merz: The Monograph
Pier Giovanni Castagnoli
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Mario Merz
Germano Celant
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Mario Merz: Disegni
Lara Conte
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