Emilio Prini (1943 in

Stresa Stresa is a town and ''comune'' of about 4,600 residents on the shores of Lake Maggiore in the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in the Piedmont region of northern Italy, about northwest of Milan. It is situated on road and rail routes to the Simp ...

– 1 September 2016 in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

) was an Italian artist associated with the Arte Povera movement that began in the 1960s.

Biography

One of the early contributors to the Arte Povera movement living in Genoa in the 1960s, Prini became involved in shows such as "Arte povera – Im spazio" and "Collage 1" curated by

Germano Celant Germano Celant (11 September 1940 – 29 April 2020) was an Italian art historian, critic and curator who coined the term " Arte Povera" (poor art) in 1967 and wrote many articles and books on the subject. Work Germano Celant was born in Genoa ...

, art critic credited with grouping the artists together.

Works

In her book ''Arte Povera'', Caroyln Christov-Bakargiev says that "Prini has created works based on the relationship between language and experience, exploring the meaning of intention, practice, reproduction, documentation and use through media such as photography and audio recording, written text and oral discourse." In his ''Perimetro'' series started in 1967, he places neon lights activated by sound at the ends and center of a room, leaving the viewer to activate the work and gain a heightened sense of the surroundings. Prini's "''Camping msterdam' approached the concept of a nomadic home which touched on Arte Povera's concerns on nature and culture. His concerns with the complexities of reality and perception left him to leave much of his works undocumented so that the art is experienced in the instant it is created not in the reminiscence of stale objects.

Exhibition

Fondazione Merz and Archivio Emilio Prini, opened in Turin an exhibition from October, 28th 2019 to February, 9th 2020 collecting over forty works by Emilio Prini. All exposed works have been made from 1966 to 2016 and offer a clear picture of his research on media including photography, writing, visual poetry and sound text.

References

1943 births 2016 deaths Painters from Piedmont Italian contemporary artists Arte Povera People from Stresa {{Italy-painter-20thC-stub