Arte Povera and South African Art: In Conversation is an exhibition project conceived by the Consulate General of Italy in Johannesburg to develop further the bridges between Italy and South Africa. It stimulates an intercultural dialogue and an exchange of experiences between two geo-cultural regions, by using a universal language: Art.
Hosted by Wits Art Museum in Johannesburg from 31 October to 9 December 2023, this artistic conversation is twofold: one component is the exhibition Arte Povera 1967-1971, curated by the Italian curator Ilaria Bernardi, and another is South African Innovations, 1980s-2020s, curated by the South African curator Thembinkosi Goniwe.
Arte Povera is Italy’s most internationally known postwar artistic research. It was developed in Italy in the second half of the 1960s and was defined as such in 1967 by curator Germano Celant, to identify the artistic process of some Italian artists that “consists of removing, eliminating, reducing to the minimum terms, impoverishing signs, in order to reduce them to their archetypes.”
For the first time, Arte Povera artworks will be displayed on the African continent. This is why the exhibition Arte Povera 1967-1971, curated by Ilaria Bernardi, has a historical significance. It showcases works by 13 artists who, after additions and subtractions after 1967, are now considered the canonical representatives of Arte Povera: Giovanni Anselmo, Alighiero Boetti, Pier Paolo Calzolari, Luciano Fabro, Jannis Kounellis, Mario Merz, Marisa Merz, Giulio Paolini, Pino Pascali, Giuseppe Penone, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Emilio Prini, and Gilberto Zorio. The exhibition includes historical works, created between 1967 and 1971 and exhibited during significant group shows of Arte Povera at the end of the 1960s.
The exhibition South African Innovations, 1980s – 2020s, curated by Thembinkosi Goniwe, underscores the trajectory of experimentation, discovery and improvisation in the work of 13 South African artists. Their work is locally grounded and globally orientated in its parallel, overlapping and intersecting visual explorations with artistic movements such as Arte Povera. Some aspects of their practice indicate a transnational conversation with the work of this Italian movement. They are Jane Alexander, Willem Boshoff, Bongiwe Dhlomo, Kay Hassan, David Thubu Koloane, Moshekwa Langa, Billy Mandindi, Senzeni Marasela, Kagiso Pat Mautloa, Thokozani Mthiyane, Lucas Seage, Usha Seejarim and Kemang Wa Lehulere.
Arte Povera and South African Art: In Conversation highlights an implicit dialogue between Italian and South African art, demonstrating how cultural interchange is necessary for fruitful transnational artistic development.
Arte Povera and South African Art: In Conversation will be accompanied by an illustrated book/catalogue, published by Silvana Editoriale, bilingual (Italian/English), to be browsed in two verses. The first verse of the volume will be dedicated to the Arte Povera exhibition curated by Ilaria Bernardi; it will include her essay, insights into the works and the 13 artists, and a chronology of the most important Arte Povera exhibitions from 1967 to the present. The second verse will focus on South African Innovations curated by Thembinkosi Goniwe and feature his essay with insights into the exhibited works and the 13 South African artists on display.
