“Arte Povera” takes over Paris’ Bourse de Commerce

Paris hosts an exhibition dedicated to the Arte Povera movement, highlighting its impact on contemporary art.

In the mid-20th century, the world underwent major transformations. The bloodiest war in history had left Europe and much of Asia in ruins, and from the ashes emerged new material and ideological directions that later shaped society. In post-war Italy, a group of artists began to criticize urbanization, industrialization, and Western consumerism, choosing the path of Arte Povera, or “poor art.” They rejected traditional media and the growing influence of commercial art, preferring natural and rudimentary elements.

The Bourse de Commerce in Paris is hosting a group exhibition revisiting the Arte Povera movement through 13 iconic figures who pioneered this path. The eponymous exhibition presents a series of sculptures, paintings, 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.

Displayed in the Tadao Ando-designed rotunda, the 250 works create an artistic dialogue, highlighting the movement’s origins and its influence on contemporary artists. “Using simple materials and techniques, these artists have created installations that involve the viewer within the work,” explained curator Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev. “Favoring natural and rural elements (like earth, potatoes, lettuce, water, coal, trees, living beings, etc.) and artificial and urban elements (such as stainless steel plates, lead ingots, light bulbs, wooden beams, neon tubes, etc.), their works trigger flows of physical, chemical, and even psychic energy, invoking memory and emotions to challenge spectators.”

The Arte Povera exhibition is open in Paris until January 20, 2025.

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