Italian artist Enzo Cucchi (b. 1949), is one of the pioneers of the 20th century trans avant-garde art movement, and was part of a wider international movement of Neo-Expressionist painters. Today he is considered one of Italy’s most productive and innovative artists, and has become a model for the younger generation. His work is notable for its vibrant colour, figuration, and symbolism, with signs, symbols, mixed media, and words which meld into a powerful new aesthetic. His work is presented here in thematic chapters, and includes his ceramics, small bronze figurines, drawings, paintings, and artist books. This volume accompanies the exhibition Enzo Cucchi: The Poet and the Magician that will be held between May and November 2023 at MAXXI in Rome. Text in English and Italian.

This volume is one of three companion catalogues to an exhibition taking place simultaneously at three venues in Rome on the large-scale projects of Pier Paolo Pasolini. They explore a theme dear to Pasolini - sacredness - with a multidisciplinary approach that will shed a light on his main characteristics as a poet, writer, director, and artist and on the cultural influence he wielded. This is the catalogue for the exhibition at Fondazione MAXXI, which explores the many facets of Pasolini's political engagement. Texts, images, movies, notes, and documents will narrate the beginning of a protest that has endured to this day, with interpretations of Pasolini's work is seen through the voices of contemporary artists. An essay by Anne Violaine Houcke analyses Pasolini's final period, while Ara Merjan's text explores his aesthetics. Marco Belpoliti explores the 1975 timeline, giving special attention to the political events most closely connected to Pasolini. Incudes contributions by Eleonora Cardinale, Roberto Chiesi, Silvia De Laude, Fabio Francione, Giuseppe Garrera, and Vincenzo Trione. Text in English and Italian.

Opera, whose name derives from the Italian word for “work,� is a genre in constant flux. While some see it as representing outdated bourgeois culture, for many others it embodies the ultimate art form with almost revolutionary possibilities. Situated next to the State Opera, the PalaisPopulaire, in cooperation with MAXXI - National Museum of XXI Century Arts in Rome, will present the exhibition OPERA OPERA Allegro ma non troppo in 2022. Based on a wide and significant selection of the Museum’s Collection, the show as well as the catalogue are devoted to a quintessentially Italian subject while at the same time exploring the fascination and potential of opera as a theatrical Gesamtkunstwerk - a total work of art - from the perspective of global visual arts. The artists featured deal with physical expression, masking, staging, performativity, experiences of space, and sound. Artists: Vanessa Beecroft, Monica Bonvicini, William Kentridge, Liliana Moro, Olaf Nicolai, Luigi Ontani, Susan Philipsz, Kara Walker. Text in English and German.