A tribute to Marisa Merz, Arte Povera’s only female artist
Marina Paglieri | la Repubblica | 30th October 2026
Merz was married to one of the stars of the Italian arte povera movement whose mantra was to use humble materials. A belated retrospective makes clear just how much she contributed to the group. She made art in her kitchen –shapes formed by knitting copper wire, small clay figures, hanging pieces of aluminium sheeting – in what one writer calls “a total collapse between art and life”. Said one writer of an earlier Merz show, “Arte Povera may turn out to dwell largely in Ms. Merz’s shadow.” Images are here.