Untitled (Langer Nr. 48)

Mario Merz began his artistic activity as an Art Informel painter in the 1950s but began to include unusual materials in his canvases during the following decade, including neon tubes that pierced their surfaces. This experimentation with materials and installation made him one of the leading figures in the Arte Povera movement. He then returned to painting in the late 1970s and through the following decade, however, as attested by work exhibited here, where his painting is free and uninhibited. “He used a brush thick with paint and spray cans on unstretched canvases, as thin and light as sheets. He seemed to draw rather than paint: elongated lines, curved and wandering, sharply delineated, which took the shape of figures (mostly imaginary animals). These forms were clearly defined and powerful in terms of colour and draughtsmanship.” (FUCHS, 2011, p. 5) (Transl. by Paul Metcalfe per Scriptum, Roma) Bibl: R. H. FUCHS, Mario Merz. Pageantry of painting. Corteo della pittura, Catalogo della mostra (Torino, 12 maggio - 26 settembre 2010), Torino 2011.