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Mario Merz
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Mario Merz
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Mario Merz (1 January 1925 – 9 November 2003) was an Italian artist, and husband of Marisa Merz.

Key Information

Life

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Born in Milan, Merz started drawing during World War II, when he was imprisoned for his activities with the Giustizia e Libertà antifascist group. He experimented with a continuous graphic stroke–not removing his pencil point from the paper. He explored the relationship between nature and the subject, until he had his first exhibitions in the intellectually incendiary context of Turin in the 1950s, a cultural climate fed by such writers as Cesare Pavese, Elio Vittorini, and Ezra Pound.

He met Marisa Merz during his studies in Turin in the 1950s. They were associated with the development of Arte Povera, and they were both influenced by each other's works.

He died in Milan in 2003.[1]

Work

[edit]

Merz discarded abstract expressionism's subjectivity in favour of opening art to exterior space: a seed or a leaf in the wind becomes a universe on his canvas. From the mid-1960s, his paintings echoed his desire to explore the transmission of energy from the organic to the inorganic, a curiosity that led him to create works in which neon lights pierced everyday objects, such as an umbrella, a glass, a bottle or his own raincoat. Without ever using ready-made objects as "things" (at least to the extent that the Nouveau Realistes in France did), Merz and his companions drew the guiding lines of a renewed life for Italian art in the global context.

Installation of Fibonacci numbers by Mario Merz at the Centre for International Light Art in Unna, Germany.

Many of his installations were accented with words or numbers in neon. The numbers counted off the Fibonacci progression, the mathematical formula (named for the Italian monk and mathematician Leonardo Fibonacci who discovered it) for growth patterns found in many forms of life, including leaves, snail shells, pine cones and reptile skins.[2] The pattern is identifiable as a sequence of numbers in which any given number is the sum of the two numbers that precede it: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, etc., ad infinitum.[3] From 1969 Merz employed the Fibonacci sequence in performances and installations throughout his career to represent the universal principles of creation and growth: climbing up the Guggenheim Museum in New York (1971) or the spire of a Turin landmark (1984), or perched in neon on a stack of newspapers among the old masters of Naples' Capodimonte Gallery (1987).[4] In 1972 he illustrated the Fibonacci progression with a series of photographs of a factory workers' lunchroom and a restaurant progressively crowded with diners. His 1973 show at the John Weber Gallery in New York expressed the Fibonacci in a series of low modular tables.[2] In 1990 the sequence determined the form of a spiral assembled from sticks, iron and paper across 24 meters of a hall in Prato, near Florence. An installation of Fibonacci numbers by Merz is the landmark of the Centre for International Light Art in Unna, Germany.

Merz became fascinated by architecture: he admired the skyscraper-builders of New York City; his father was an architect; and his art thereby conveys a sensitivity for the unity of space and the human residing therein. He made big spaces feel human, intimate and natural. He was intrigued by the powerful (Wagner, D’annunzio) as well as the small (a seed that will generate a tree or the shape of a leaf) and applied both to his drawing.

In the 1960s, Merz's work with energy, light and matter placed him in the movement that Germano Celant named Arte Povera, which, together with Futurism, was one of the most influential movements of Italian art in the 20th century. In 1968 Merz began to work on his famous igloos and continued throughout his life, revealing the prehistoric and tribal features hidden within the present time and space. He saw the mobility of this typical shelter for nomadic wandering as an ideal metaphor for the space of the artist.[3] The neon words on his igloos are hallmark Italian phraseology: like "rock ‘n’ roll," they have the power of being more than catchphrases or slogans, but the voice of his time in history. His first of the dome-shaped structures, "Giap's Igloo," in 1968 was decorated with a saying by General Vo Nguyen Giap of North Vietnam: If the enemy masses his forces, he loses ground. If he scatters, he loses force.

By the time of his first solo museum exhibition in the United States, at the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, in 1972, Merz had also added stacked newspapers, archetypal animals, and motorcycles to his iconography, to be joined later by the table, symbolizing a locus of the human need for fulfilment and interaction.[5]

From the late 1970s to the end of his career, Merz joined many artists of his generation in returning periodically to more conventional media. In Le Foglie (The Leaves) (1983–84), measuring over 26 feet across, gold leaf squares are scattered around two large asymmetrical leaf-like forms.[6] He even, occasionally, carved in marble, with which in 2002 he made five statues displayed from the windows of a building at the International Sculpture Biennale in Carrara. Merz said: "Space is curved, the earth is curved, everything on earth is curved" and subsequently produced large curvilinear installations like the one at the Guggenheim in New York. This retrospective was the artist's first major museum show in the United States. These last works are formally transcendent and unusually light. His site-specific works in archaeological sites redeem spaces from touristy tedium with a single neon line, which serves as a source of aesthetic inspiration. He had the wild, immediate perceptiveness of a child. His works encapsulate this nature together with an uncanny universality and versatility.

In 1996, Merz collaborated with Jil Sander on a fashion show, including a wind tunnel of sheer white fabric twisted and filled with blowing leaves.[7] Along with six other collaborations between artists and fashion designers on the occasion of the first Biennale of Florence that same year, Merz and Sander were assigned an individual pavilion designed by architect Arata Isozaki. Merz and Sander transformed their pavilion, which was open to the outside, into a wind tunnel inspired by the form of a 10-foot diameter cylinder. One end of the tunnel was fitted with an oculus through which the viewer could gaze into a vortex of blowing leaves and flowers through the length of a suspended fabric cone.[8]

Exhibitions

[edit]

Merz had his first one-man exhibition, in 1954, at the Galleria La Bussola in Turin;[4] his first solo European museum exhibition took place at the Kunsthalle Basel in 1975. He has since been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions at institutions around the world, including Fundação de Serralves, Porto; Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), London (1975); Moderna Museet, Stockholm (1983); Lehmbruck Museum, Duisburg; Fundación Antoni Tàpies, Barcelona; Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York (1989); a two-venue retrospective at Castello di Rivoli and Galleria d’Arte Moderna, Turin (2005). In the years 1972, 1977, 1983 and 1992 Mario Merz participated in the documenta 5, 6, 7 and 9. In 1989, his work "Se la forma scompare la sua radice è eterna" was installed at the Deichtorhallen.

Recognition

[edit]

Merz was awarded the Ambrogino Gold Prize, Milan; the Oskar Kokoschka Prize, Vienna; the Arnold Bode Prize, Kassel; and the Praemium Imperiale for sculpture (2003). He was the subject of an atmospheric film, Mario Merz (2002), shot during the summer of 2002 in San Gimignano by the British artist Tacita Dean. The Fondazione Merz in Turin, Italy, regularly displays both the works of its namesake and sponsors exhibitions by living artists.

Collections

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Contributions

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Legacy

[edit]

The Fondazione Merz was founded in 2005 in Turin, Italy, by Mario Merz's daughter Beatrice.[9] The Mario Merz Prize was launched in 2015.[10] In 2022, the Fondazione Merz opened an outpost in Palermo.[11]

References

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Literature

[edit]
  • Christel Sauer: Mario Merz: Isola della Frutta, Raussmüller Collection, Basel 2009, ISBN 978-3-905777-02-4
  • Christel Sauer: Mario Merz: Architettura fondata dal tempo, architettura sfondata dal tempo, Raussmüller Collection, Basel 2009, ISBN 978-3-905777-03-1
  • Christel Sauer: Mario Merz: Le braccia lunghe della preistoria, Raussmüller Collection, Basel 2009, ISBN 978-3-905777-04-8
  • Christel Sauer: Mario Merz: Casa sospesa, Raussmüller Collection, Basel 2009, ISBN 978-3-905777-05-5
  • Meret Arnold: Mario Merz: My home's wind, Raussmüller Collection, Basel 2011, ISBN 978-3-905777-07-9
  • Christel Sauer: Mario Merz: Senza titolo, Raussmüller Collection, Basel 2011, ISBN 978-3-905777-08-6
[edit]
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Mario Merz

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  • Mario Merz * is an Italian artist known for his central role in the Arte Povera movement and his innovative use of humble, everyday materials combined with industrial elements such as neon tubing in sculptures, installations, and paintings. He is particularly recognized for his iconic igloo structures, often covered in materials like wax, clay, glass, or branches and inscribed with neon phrases, as well as his frequent incorporation of the Fibonacci sequence through neon numerals to explore themes of natural growth, infinity, and the interplay between organic and inorganic worlds.
Born in Milan in 1925, Merz initially studied medicine in Turin but abandoned his studies during World War II to join the anti-fascist group Giustizia e Libertà, leading to his arrest and a year in prison where he produced experimental continuous-line drawings. After the war, he became a self-taught artist and held his first solo exhibition in 1954 at Galleria La Bussola in Turin, initially working in an Art Informel style. From the mid-1960s, he shifted toward radical experimentation, abandoning traditional canvas painting for works that pierced ordinary objects—such as umbrellas, bottles, and raincoats—with neon elements, which positioned him as a key proponent of Arte Povera after critic Germano Celant coined the term in 1967. Merz's practice emphasized anti-elitist aesthetics, the use of "poor" materials from daily life and nature, and a critique of industrialization and consumerism, often realized in large-scale site-specific installations that included spiral tables with perishable foods, beeswax forms, stacked newspapers, and archetypal animals. He received major international recognition, including the Praemium Imperiale Prize for Sculpture in 2003, the year of his death in Milan, and his work has been featured in significant retrospectives at institutions such as the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York and continues to influence contemporary art through its poetic and material innovations.

Early Life

Childhood and Family Background

Mario Merz was born on January 1, 1925, in Milan, Italy, to a family of Swiss origin. His father was an engineer and inventor. As a child, Merz moved with his family to Turin, where he would spend much of his life. In Turin, Merz pursued early university studies in medicine. He later abandoned these studies due to the disruptions of the Second World War.

Anti-Fascist Activities and Imprisonment

During World War II, while a medical student in Turin, Mario Merz joined the anti-Fascist resistance group Giustizia e Libertà. In 1945, he was arrested for distributing anti-Fascist leaflets and imprisoned in Turin's prison. He spent one year in confinement, during which he began creating experimental drawings without ever removing the pencil from the paper. This period of incarceration proved formative, as Merz drew incessantly using whatever materials were available to him in jail. The continuous-line technique he developed there, producing works without lifting his pencil, marked the origins of his artistic practice. He also drew frenetically in prison, engaging in intensive mark-making that laid the groundwork for his later development.

Artistic Beginnings

First Drawings and Exhibitions

Mario Merz began his artistic career in the vibrant post-war cultural environment of Turin, which emerged as a key intellectual center in Italy during the 1950s. The city's artistic and literary scene was enriched by prominent writers such as Cesare Pavese, Elio Vittorini, and Ezra Pound, whose works contributed to a stimulating atmosphere that shaped Merz's early creative pursuits. He met artist Marisa Merz in Turin during this period. In 1954, Merz held his first solo exhibition at the Galleria La Bussola in Turin, presenting a series of drawings and paintings. These early works featured organic imagery and an expressionist style, reflecting his engagement with the dominant Art Informel tendencies of the time. Merz considered the organic forms in these paintings representative of his emerging artistic language, marking his initial public engagement with abstract and gestural approaches in the context of Turin's evolving art community.

Transition in the 1950s–1960s

In the 1950s and early 1960s, Mario Merz continued his work in oil on canvas, developing paintings influenced by Art Informel that featured organic imagery he regarded as representative of ecological systems. These works reflected a subjective approach rooted in gestural abstraction. By the mid-1960s, Merz shifted decisively away from traditional painting on canvas and its emphasis on personal expression, instead seeking to open his art to natural processes and the forces of the external world. This transition manifested in his introduction of neon tubes to pierce everyday objects, beginning around 1966 with pieces that incorporated items such as bottles, umbrellas, and raincoats. The neon elements symbolically infused these objects with energy, creating works that explored the transmission of vital force from the organic to the inorganic. This approach marked an early move toward incorporating real-world materials and dynamic processes, altering the perception of ordinary items through their interaction with electric light.

Arte Povera and Mature Practice

Role in the Arte Povera Movement

Mario Merz was a central participant in Arte Povera, an Italian art movement that emerged in the late 1960s. The term "Arte Povera," meaning "poor art," was coined in 1967 by the critic and curator Germano Celant to describe the work of a group of young artists, including Merz, who sought to create art without the restraints of traditional practices and materials. Celant positioned the movement as a radical response to the commercialized contemporary art system, emphasizing an antielitist aesthetic that drew from everyday life and the organic world. Merz was included among the key proponents from the outset, alongside artists such as Giovanni Anselmo, Jannis Kounellis, and Giuseppe Penone. Arte Povera artists rejected canonical materials like oil paint, bronze, or marble in favor of humble, non-traditional, and often impermanent substances such as soil, rags, twigs, and other everyday or organic items. This approach challenged the values of the industrialized consumer society and aimed to bring art closer to natural processes and social reality. The movement's use of unconventional materials and processes reflected a broader critique of elitism in art and the dehumanizing effects of capitalism, emerging amid Italy's economic and political turbulence. Merz's work embodied the movement's principles through his engagement with everyday and organic elements to disrupt conventional artistic boundaries. He occasionally incorporated motifs such as neon and the Fibonacci sequence to explore energy transfer between the organic and inorganic realms, aligning with Arte Povera's emphasis on vitality and immediacy. As one of the leading figures, Merz contributed to defining the movement's identity during its formative phase in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Signature Motifs and Materials

Mario Merz's mature artistic practice, beginning in the mid-1960s, is defined by a focused set of recurring motifs and materials that emphasize energy, natural growth, and human shelter through simple yet transformative means. Neon tubing emerged as a signature element in 1966, when Merz began piercing canvases and everyday objects such as bottles, umbrellas, and raincoats with neon tubes to symbolically infuse them with electric energy. This technique evolved to include neon inscriptions of political or literary phrases, often encircling his works, and later featured Fibonacci numbers rendered in the artist's handwriting. The igloo became one of Merz's most iconic motifs starting in 1968 with Giap's Igloo, a hemispherical structure built on a metal frame and covered with wire mesh supporting clear bags of clay soil. Subsequent igloos incorporated varied organic and industrial materials—including clay, wax, mud, glass, burlap, branches, and stone—collected locally to evoke nomadic shelters, prehistoric habitats, and spiral expansion. These structures frequently featured neon phrases or sequences that activated their surfaces, linking primitive form with modern technology. Introduced around 1970, the Fibonacci sequence served as a core conceptual motif, representing continuous growth and transformation in nature through its mathematical progression (0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, …) and resulting spiral. Merz applied these numbers visually, often in neon, to underscore organic and societal expansion, sometimes alongside natural forms such as shells or leaves. Additional recurring motifs from the early 1970s onward include stacked newspapers symbolizing accumulation, tables as loci of human interaction and fulfillment, motorcycles evoking mobility, and archetypal animals. These elements were combined with materials such as metal frames, glass, wax, branches, and other everyday or organic substances to maintain a dialogue between the raw and the industrial.

Major Works and Exhibitions

Iconic Artworks

Mario Merz's iconic artworks frequently incorporate humble materials, neon elements, and the Fibonacci sequence to evoke organic growth, energy transformation, and the interplay between nature and human constructs. One of his most recognized pieces is Giap’s Igloo (1968), a hemispherical structure built on a metal frame covered in wire mesh and clear bags filled with clay soil, with white neon tubing forming the Italian translation of a guerrilla warfare statement by North Vietnamese General Võ Nguyên Giáp: “If the enemy masses his forces, he loses ground; if he scatters, he loses strength.” This work, the first in a long series of igloos that Merz continued to produce and adapt throughout his career, merges references to primitive shelter, Vietnam War politics, and the spiraling geometry tied to his mathematical interests. In 1969 Merz created Lingotto, an upright sculpture composed of bundled brushwood, beeswax, steel, and branches arranged compactly against a wall, emphasizing raw natural elements in a contained form. From 1969 onward he began integrating the Fibonacci sequence—a mathematical progression governing patterns in nature—into his practice, using it to structure works that suggest infinite biological expansion. A prominent example appeared in his 1973 exhibition at the John Weber Gallery in New York, where low modular tables were arranged according to the Fibonacci numbers to illustrate cumulative growth. Merz's later works extended these motifs into more elaborate installations and objects. Tavola a spirale (Spiral Table, 1982) features a large spiral form constructed from aluminum, glass, fresh fruit, vegetables, branches, and beeswax, evoking abundance and the natural cycle of nourishment and decay on a symbolic dining surface. Le Foglie (The Leaves, 1983–84) is a monumental canvas painting executed in acrylic, enamel, spray paint, gold leaf, gesso, and charcoal, depicting foliage in a way that explores organic proliferation across an expansive surface. In 1990 Merz realized a major site-specific spiral installation in Prato titled La spirale appare, an imposing construction of bundled sticks, iron, and paper that extended 24 meters across halls and courtyards, embodying the Fibonacci-driven expansion through architectural space.

Key Solo and Group Shows

Mario Merz's first solo exhibition took place at Galleria La Bussola in Turin in 1954, presenting a series of paintings that introduced his early artistic language. This debut marked his entry into the Italian art scene before his involvement with Arte Povera. Merz gained prominent international exposure through participation in multiple editions of Documenta, including Documenta 5 in 1972, Documenta 6 in 1977, Documenta 7 in 1982, and Documenta 9 in 1992. In 1972, the same year as his Documenta 5 debut, he held his first solo exhibition at a U.S. museum, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. Additional notable solo presentations in Europe included shows at Kunsthalle Basel in 1975 and Moderna Museet in Stockholm in 1983. A major retrospective of Merz's work was organized at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York in 1989, highlighting his key motifs and installations in the museum's iconic rotunda. After his death in 2003, a significant posthumous exhibition was presented at Castello di Rivoli in 2005. These exhibitions underscored Merz's enduring role in post-war European art and his influence across generations.

Personal Life

Marriage to Marisa Merz

Mario Merz met the artist Marisa Merz in Turin during the 1950s, where they connected within the city's vibrant artistic circles. They married in 1960 and maintained a lifelong partnership that lasted until Mario Merz's death in 2003, spanning over fifty years of shared life and creative exchange. The couple lived in a small apartment in Turin that doubled as their home and studio, creating an environment where art and daily life merged seamlessly and fostered close collaboration. Their relationship was marked by constant dialogue and mutual influence, with Marisa Merz recognized as a key figure in the Arte Povera movement alongside her husband, contributing to its ethos through interconnected practices and joint participation in significant exhibitions. They had a daughter named Beatrice.

Later Years and Death

In his later years, Mario Merz lived and worked primarily in Turin, the city that had served as his main base since the postwar period. He died on November 9, 2003, in Milan, Italy, at the age of 78.

Legacy

Awards and Honors

Mario Merz received several prestigious awards and honors throughout his career in recognition of his contributions to contemporary art and his pioneering role in the Arte Povera movement. In 1981, he was awarded the Oskar Kokoschka Prize in Vienna. This was followed by the Arnold Bode Prize in Kassel in 1985. He received the Ambrogino d'Oro Prize in Milan in 1990. In 2001, Merz was conferred a laurea honoris causa. In 2003, he was honored with the Praemium Imperiale for sculpture by the Japan Art Association.

Posthumous Institutions and Influence

After Mario Merz's death in 2003, his legacy has been sustained through dedicated institutions and a range of posthumous exhibitions that continue to present his work while fostering contemporary artistic practices. The Fondazione Merz was established in Turin in 2005 by his daughter Beatrice Merz with the mission to preserve and promote the artist's oeuvre alongside supporting emerging and established artists through exhibitions, events, and educational programs. This institution alternates displays of Mario Merz's works with those of other contemporary creators, ensuring ongoing study and reflection on his contributions to Arte Povera and beyond. In 2015, the Fondazione Merz launched the Mario Merz Prize, a biennial award recognizing excellence in visual arts and music, thereby extending Merz's influence by highlighting innovative contemporary practices that echo his experimental spirit. Permanent installations of Merz's work also endure internationally, such as his neon Fibonacci sequence piece at the Centre for International Light Art in Unna, Germany, which remains on view as part of the institution's focus on light-based art. Major posthumous exhibitions have kept Merz's art visible in prominent venues, including a large-scale survey at Pirelli HangarBicocca in Milan from 2018 to 2019, a retrospective at the Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid from 2019 to 2020, and a presentation at Dia Beacon in New York in 2020. These shows have reinforced his position within art historical discourse. Merz's emphasis on organic materials, numerical sequences, and site-specific installations continues to influence contemporary artists working in sculpture, immersive environments, and the intersection of art with natural processes and ecology.

References

  1. https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/artists/mario-merz
  2. https://www.praemiumimperiale.org/en/laureate/merz/
  3. https://www.speronewestwater.com/artists/mario-merz
  4. https://gladstonegallery.com/artist/mario-merz/
  5. https://sprovieri.com/artists/121-mario-merz/
  6. https://artuk.org/discover/artists/merz-mario-19252003
  7. https://www.giorgiopersano.org/en/artista/mario-merz/
  8. https://www.magazzino.art/learn/publications/mario-merz-the-artist-and-the-work-materials-for-a-portrait
  9. https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/artist/mario-merz
  10. https://www.fondationcartier.com/en/collection/artists/mario-merz
  11. https://wallector.com/en/mario-merz
  12. https://www.fondazionemerz.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Mario-Merz_biography.pdf
  13. https://www.castellodirivoli.org/wp-content/uploads/archivi/2005_1_Mario_Merz/2005_1_Mario%20Merz_brochure_eng.pdf
  14. https://wahooart.com/en/artists/mario-merz-en/
  15. https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/a/arte-povera
  16. https://www.moma.org/collection/terms/arte-povera
  17. http://www.dreamideamachine.com/?p=22126
  18. https://www.frieze.com/article/mario-merz-art-building-igloo
  19. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-1010/post-minimalism/post-minimalism-sculpture/a/mario-merz-giaps-igloo
  20. https://smarthistory.org/merz-giap-igloo/
  21. https://www.moma.org/collection/works/80996
  22. https://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/13/arts/mario-merz-78-an-italian-installation-artist.html
  23. https://www.artnet.com/artists/mario-merz/tavola-a-spirale-RhFDFIq1xnJeJlnlg2bVbQ2
  24. https://www.artsy.net/artwork/mario-merz-le-foglie
  25. https://www.artforum.com/events/mario-merz-4-218748/
  26. https://web-assets-hangarbicocca.pirelli.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Exhibition_Booklet_Mario_Merz_ENG.pdf
  27. https://www.mattiadeluca.com/artisti/mario-merz/
  28. https://kewenig.com/artists/mario-merz
  29. https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/2580
  30. https://www.guggenheim.org/articles/findings/merz-retrospective
  31. http://www.dreamideamachine.com/?p=88379
  32. https://cardigallery.com/magazine/marisa-merz-the-woman-in-arte-povera/
  33. https://www.artandobject.com/news/remembering-alchemy-marisa-merz
  34. https://www.fondazionemerz.org/en/foundation/
  35. https://www.fondazionemerz.org/en/
  36. https://www.mariomerzprize.org/en/
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