Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein
4 May - 14 October 2007


Within the collection of the Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein the group of works by Arte Povera artists are particularly well known. A special room is devoted to this part of the collection, in which the works are regularly presented in ever new constellations.


In September 1967 the young art critic Germano Celant organised a group exhibition in Genoa entitled "Arte Povera e IM Spazio". It was accompanied by a text: "Arte Povera: Remarks on Guerrilla Warfare". This event is regarded the historical beginning of the Arte Povera movement, which had centres in Turin and Rome. What bound the artists together was their desire to bridge the gap between art and life and to expand perception. Their works are characterised by a sensual-poetic idiom in which natural processes, energies and culture are essential components.

With their critical attitude towards the traditional concept of the work of art and the established art business, these artists aimed to topple that work from its pedestal, to create art using more simple and modest means, to make art more authentic in terms of its materials. Everyday, apparently worthless materials make their entry onto the art scene: the most banal and insignificant things become meaningful.

Arte Povera artists repeatedly tried to extend the limits of art and life, and their range and stylistic freedom are unimaginably broad and cannot simply be reduced to "poor" materials, as is often assumed. The term "Povera", poor, is used in the sense of a reduction to a simple formal language that lead back to the roots.


Artits presented for this presentation include: Giovanni Anselmo, Alighiero Boetti, Pier Paolo Calzolari, Jannis Kounellis, Mario Merz, Marisa Merz, Giulio Paolini, Pino Pascali, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Emilio Prini und Gilberto Zorio.

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Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein
Städtle 32 Postfach 370
FL- 9490 Vaduz
Liechtenstein
TEL : +423 235 03 00
mail@kunstmuseum.li
www.kunstmuseum.li