Ergo, materia. Arte povera

Interested as they were in the intersection of art, life, culture and nature, their works were executed with experimental rigor, using innovative materials, making unusual use of exhibition spaces, and, of course, defying the customary norms of the role of art in society.                  

Acknowledgement of this shared posture was pointed out by critic and curator Germano Celant, who coined the term 'Arte Povera' to give it a theoretical foundation and to make it part of modern culture by organizing regular group and individual exhibitions. The name first appeared in the catalogue written for the exhibition Arte Povera y Spazio held in September 1967 at La Bertesca Gallery in Genoa. Celant had been inspired by one of the premises of the Polish theater director Jerzy Grotowski to describe a new art that is opposed to mimesis and representation, as well as the imposition of linguistic and cultural constructions.

This movement delineates a system without restrictions or intellectual posturing, one in which experimentation is key and deep emotional encounters are encouraged.  It is a manifesto for our times, one in sympathy with ordinary life events; it stimulates a wide range of ideas and foments harmony with and commitment to the environment.  Within these parameters, the Arte Poverists link material and symbol. Its practitioners bridge the gap between nature and culture by juxtaposing organic elements (water, fire, sand, stones, tree branches, animal, waxes, fats, fruits, and vegetables) with manufactured materials (glass, fabrics, neon, and iron), creating a new alphabet for a poetics of real experience that concentrates on the sensorial, the lyrical and the subjective.