Beginning 12 September 2017, Hauser & Wirth presents ‘Arte Povera. Curated by Ingvild Goetz,’ a comprehensive overview of Italy’s highly innovative twentieth-century art movement, as seen through the eyes of one of its most significant collectors. With over 150 works on view, ‘Arte Povera’ sheds light on the ideas and motivations of a group of Italian artists – jointly known as ‘i poveristi’ – whose radical responses to the sociopolitical upheaval of their time remain vividly relevant today. The exhibition coincides with the 50th anniversary of the Arte Povera movement and features works spanning the late 1950s to the 1990s by Claudio Abate, Giovanni Anselmo, Alighiero Boetti, Pier Paolo Calzolari, Giorgio Colombo, Luciano Fabro, Jannis Kounellis, Mario Merz, Paolo Mussat Sartor, Giulio Paolini, Pino Pascali, Giuseppe Penone, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Emilio Prini, and Gilberto Zorio.
Organized by Ingvild Goetz, the exhibition is accompanied by ‘First of all I prefer thought. Arte Povera seen by Ingvild Goetz,’ a book by Hauser & Wirth Publishers featuring previously unpublished archival materials that trace the emergence of the movement, as well as newly commissioned essays from curators Douglas Fogle and Chiara Vecchiarelli.
In addition to iconic Arte Povera works and important but less familiar paintings, sculptures, and installations, the exhibition includes a vast array of rare archival materials from the library of Ingvild Goetz. Among these are more than 400 monographs, exhibition catalogues, and publications, as well as documentary photographs and invitation cards from early Arte Povera exhibitions. Alongside these rich materials, the works on view capture with clarity and force the visual poetry that ‘i poveristi’ built from disenchantment. (…)
Location: 548 West 22nd Street, New York
Hauser & Wirth (press release)

Embroidery on linen on stretcher. 121 x 221 x 3 cm / 47 5/8 x 87 x 1 1/8 in
© 2017 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / SIAE, Rome
Courtesy Kunstmuseum Basel and Sammlung Goetz, München Photo: Wilfried Petzi, Munich

Mirror, plaster, paint. Installation dimensions variable
Figure: 200 x 50 cm / 78 3/4 x 19 5/8 in (approx.). Mirror: 240 x 200 x 0.6 cm / 94 1/2 x 78 3/4 x 1/4 in
© Michelangelo Pistoletto; Courtesy of the artist, Luhring Augustine, New York, Galleria Christian Stein, Milan, and Simon Lee Gallery, London / Hong Kong
Courtesy Kunstmuseum Basel and Sammlung Goetz, München. Photo: Kunstmuseum Basel, Martin P. Bühler

Black and white photography. 3 parts, each: 40.3 x 30.4 cm / 15 7/8 x 12 in
© Claudio Abate / Studio Abate
Courtesy Kunstmuseum Basel and Sammlung Goetz, München

Cement, leather, wood
Overall: approx. 72 x 86 x 86 cm / 28 3/8 x 33 7/8 x 33 7/8 in
Cement block: 37.14 x 37.46 x 38.1 cm / 14 5/8 x 14 3/4 x 15 in
Wooden pole: 99.69 x 5.08 x 5.08 cm / 39 1/4 x 2 x 2 in © Giovanni Anselmo. Courtesy Archivio Anselmo
Courtesy Sammlung Goetz, München. Photo: Raimund Koch, NY

Wood, varnish, glass, light bulbs, timer
Total dimensions variable. 2 parts, each: 50 x 50 x 20 cm / 19 5/8 x 19 5/8 x 7 7/8 in
© 2017 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / SIAE, Rome
Courtesy Kunstmuseum Basel Sammlung Goetz, München
Photo: Tate Modern, London

Murano glass, silk
Height varies with room height. Silk: 298 cm / 117 3/8 in
Height with telescopic metal pole: max. 335 cm / 131 7/8 in
Glass foot: 69 x 103.5 x 84 cm / 27 1/8 x 40 3/4 x 33 1/8 in
© Silvia Fabro (Archivio Luciano e Carla Fabro, Milan)
Courtesy Kunstmuseum Basel and Sammlung Goetz, München. Photo: Wilfried Petzi, Munich

Ketong paint on canvas. 143 x 203 cm / 56 1/4 x 79 7/8 in
© 2017 The Estate of Jannis Kounellis, Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / SIAE, Rome
Courtesy Kunstmuseum Basel and Sammlung Goetz, München
Photo: Barbara Deller-Leppert, München

Paint on canvas 200 x 200 cm / 78 3/4 x 78 3/4 in © 2017 The Estate of Jannis Kounellis, Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / SIAE, Rome.
Courtesy Kunstmuseum Basel and Sammlung Goetz, München Photo: Wilfried Petzi, Munich

Installation dimensions variable Caiman: 11 x 43.5 x 29 cm / 4 3/8 x 17 1/8 x 11 3/8 in © 2017 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / SIAE, Rome Courtesy Kunstmuseum Basel and Sammlung Goetz, München Photo: Kunstmuseum Basel, Martin P. Bühler

Five bronze casts, potatoes. Installation dimensions variable
© 2017 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris
Courtesy Kunstmuseum Basel and Sammlung Goetz, München
Photo: Wilfried Petzi, Munich

Laurel leaves, glass. Installation dimensions variable
Glass object: approx. 135 x 101 x 18 cm / 53 1/8 x 39 3/4 x 7 1/8 in © 2017 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris
Courtesy Kunstmuseum Basel and Sammlung Goetz, München
Photo: Jon and Anne Abbott, New York

Rags, bricks, fabric, glass, kettles, steam, hot plates
2 glass panels, each: 0.4 x 130 x 90 cm / 1/8 x 51 1/8 x 35 3/8 in
Installation: 50 x 320 x 270 cm / 19 5/8 x 126 x 106 1/4 in (approx.) © Michelangelo Pistoletto; Courtesy of the artist, Luhring Augustine, New York, Galleria Christian Stein, Milan, and Simon Lee Gallery, London / Hong Kong
Courtesy Kunstmuseum Basel and Sammlung Goetz, München Photo: Wilfried Petzi, Munich