Italian Art 1970 - 2024

A new season at the Margulies Collection brings a focused look at five decades of Italian artistic innovation shaped by material experimentation and conceptual rigor.

Italian Art 1970-2024 traces a line from the radical ideas of Arte Povera, a movement rooted in the use of everyday, “poor,” or ephemeral materials, to contemporary practices that continue to expand Italy’s visual language. The exhibition pairs historical works with recent pieces to highlight how artists across generations have challenged traditional methods and reimagined the relationship between material, process and meaning.

Featured works include Michelangelo Pistoletto’s Color and Light (2024), presented alongside his 2009 piece Two Less One, creating a dialogue between his recent explorations of mirror, jute and paint and his earlier performative gestures. The exhibition also showcases Pier Paolo Calzolari’s 1971 refrigerator motor sculpture in conversation with his 2021 mixed-media paintings, which incorporate salt, shells, flame and other elemental materials. Additional artists represented include Jannis Kounellis, Mario Merz, Maurizio Pellegrin, Mimmo Paladino, Bertozzi & Casoni, Giulio Paolini, Gilberto Zorio and Luciano Fabro.

On view November 12-April 4 at the Margulies Collection at the Warehouse, the exhibition is accompanied by extended Art Basel Miami Beach hours, Monday through Saturday, December 1-6, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., with coffee served each morning.