Three Turin institutions will mark Marisa Merz’s centenary with The Dance of the Hours, opening on October 29 and running until April 4, 2027. The exhibition brings together different approaches to the Arte Povera artist’s work, from the home as a studio to process and transformation. At Castello di Rivoli, contemporary artists respond to Merz alongside a reconstruction of a long-unseen installation.
The Dance of the Hours will mark the centenary of artist Marisa Merz across three Turin institutions from October 29 to April 4, 2027.[1], [2]
Castello di Rivoli, a contemporary art museum, joins Fondazione Merz, the foundation representing her estate, and the city’s modern and contemporary art gallery, known as GAM. Born in 1926, Merz died in 2019 and was the only woman associated with the Arte Povera movement.[1]
GAM’s presentation explores the home as Merz’s studio, where kitchen foil, staples, sewing and knitting entered her practice. The foundation focuses on process and transformation. Her 1966 Living Sculpture, now held by GAM, was made from stapled aluminium foil. Its tubular forms spread through the family apartment and appeared in the 1967 film Il Mostro Verde. Merz received the Venice Biennale’s Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in 2013.[1]
At Castello di Rivoli, curators Francesco Manacorda and Marianna Vecellio are reconstructing E il Naufragar M’è Dolce In Questo Mare, a multipart installation that disappeared after its second presentation at the 1980 Venice Biennale. Photographs and an eyewitness account guide the arrangement of surviving elements, including brown paper found in Merz’s apartment. Ten contemporary artists also respond to her practice, with contributions including a film by Tacita Dean.[1]
