Mario Merz: The Monograph
by Pier Giovanni Castagnoli
from Fondazione Merz
Mario Merz, the late, great proponent of Arte Povera, envisioned the contemporary artist as a nomad, ever mediating and meditating on the relationship between nature and culture. He began to make work after his arrest in 1945 for anti-fascist activities; confined to jail, he drew incessantly on whatever material he could find. After his release, he painted first in oil on canvas, then began to pierce the canvas--as well as objects such as bottles, umbrellas, and raincoats--with neon tubes, symbolically infusing them with energy. In 1968, Merz adopted one of his signature motifs, the igloo, symbol of the transitory artist. At base a metal skeleton, the igloo could be covered with site-specific fragments of clay, wax, mud, glass, burlap, or bundles of branches, and decorated with political or literary phrases in neon tubing. Merz's iconography later came to incorporate the Fibonacci formula of mathematical progression (1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34...), stacked newspapers, archetypal animals, motorcycles, and the table, symbol of the human need for fulfillment and interaction. This posthumous monograph is the most complete publication on the artist. It includes documentation of his entire artistic production, including paintings, sculptures, installations, drawings, neon, and Fibonacci series work, plus many previously unpublished materials. With a comprehensive history of Merz's career, a bibliography, a biographic chronology, and critical essays, it offers a deep and deserving reflection of the artist and his significant role in 20th-century art.
Mario Merz: The Cat That Walks Through the Garden is my Doctor
from Hopefulmonster
On the occasion of a major exhibition in Europe, this catalogue collects 70 previously unpublished drawings by the Italian artist Mario Merz. Igloos, cones, animals, and various other shapes presented here populate Merz's imaginary universe.
Mario Merz: Museum Folkwang, Essen ; Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, 1979
Parkett No. 15 Mario Merz (Parkett Art Magazine, No 15, 1988)
by Mario Merz
from Parkett
Artwork by Mario Merz.
Contemporary Italian masters: Sandro Chia, Francesco Clemente, Enzo Cucchi, Mario Merz, Mimmo Paladino : at the Chicago Public Library Cultural Center, June 30-September 8, 1984
The knot arte povera: Giovanni Anselmo, Alighiero Boetti, Pier Paolo Calzolari, Luciano Fabro, Jannis Kounellis, Mario Merz, Marisa Merz, Giulio Paolini, ... Michelangelo Pistoletto, and Gilberto Zorio
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