This small book/catalogue brings together the biographies of the artists and musicians who were finalists in the Fourth Edition of the international prize that the Fondazione Merz dedicates to the figure and work of Mario Merz, to whom it is named. The Mario Merz Prize, created in 2013, was created with the desire to launch a new project projected towards the future of art and to identify and highlight personalities in the field of art and allow young composers to propose themselves for an innovative contemporary music project.

The two sections of the Prize, music and visual arts, saw for this edition the participation of artists Yto Barrada, Paolo Cirio, Christina Forrer, Anne Hardy, He Xiangyu and Koo Jeong A. The finalists were Katherine Balch, William Dougherty, Farzia Fallah, Füsun Köksal and Claudia Jane Scroccaro. The book is completed by images of the works that are part of the finalists' exhibition, held at the Fondazione Merz in Turin from 9 June to 25 September 2022.

The first album by the WADI ensemble, born of the collaboration and the support of Fondazione Merz, Almendra Music, and hopefulmonster editore.

The Leiðarvísir musical project (in Icelandic “itinerary, guide”) is the response of a world which does not surrender to the inevitability of the climate and civilization catastrophe, among pandemics and increasing social precariousness. To the spirit of a widespread alarm Leiðarvísir opposes a vision which is ancient and very contemporary at the same time, aimed at remapping the paths of sensitivity and imagination.

Through the compositions, improvisations and interpretations of the Wadi musicians, the original sound story of journeys which have really happened in the past, a remote and close one, unravels: the astonishment of the Great North by a geographer of the 4th century B.C., the impossible escape to the Middle East in 1939 of two European female writers and photographers, the itinerary of a monk in the 12th century from the heart of Iceland to the Holy Land, the explorations of the probes sent by today’s humans beyond the boundaries of the solar system.

This small book/catalogue collects the biographies of the artists and musicians who were finalists in the Third Edition of the international prize that the Fondazione dedicates to the figure and work of Mario Merz, after whom it is named. The two sections of the Prize, music and the visual arts, saw the participation in this edition of artists Bertille Bak, Mircea Cantor, David Maljković, Maria Papadimitriou and Unknown Friends. The finalist composers were Annachiara Gedda, Mauro Lanza, Filippo Perocco, Robert HP Platz and Jay Schwartz. The book contains images of the works that were part of the finalists’ exhibition, held at the Fondazione Merz in Turin from 3 June to 6 October 2019 and of the concert performed on the same date at the Biblioteca Civica Musicale “Andrea Della Corte” - Villa della Tesoriera, Turin.

The catalogue is published on the occasion of the exhibition Massimo Bartolini. Four Organs held at Fondazione Merz from 3 July to 1 October 2017.

“It’s the first time that works planned individually are presented together and play together, like in a concert. There is a polyphony. The instruments of this quartet are four organs, called Otra Fiesta from a poem by Roberto Juarroz, Voyelles from a poem by Arthur Rimbaud, In a Landscape from a piece by John Cage and Three Quarter-tone Pieces from a piece by Charles Ives. Maracas, instead, comes along with the title of the Four Organs exhibition. I had been listening to a lot of Steve Reich for some time. There is a very good record (Four Organs): it seemed like a suggestion that I could not allow to go by. So I extrapolated Reich’s title.” (Massimo Bartolini)

The catalogue reproduces the photographic documentation of the exhibition at the Fondazione Merz and a selection of Bartolini‘s works from 1989 al 2016. A conversation between the artist and Luca Cerizza enriches the site specific installation at the Fondazione Merz.

This catalogue is published on the occasion of the finalists’ exhibition of the First Edition of the Mario Merz Prize, held at the Fondazione Merz from March 8 to June 11, 2017.
The Mario Merz Prize, created with the aim of launching a new project which, through the expertise of an extensive international network of experts, be able to identify new emerging exponents in art and, in parallel, enable young composers to present themselves for an innovative project of contemporary music, is now at its second edition.
Francesco Arena, Petrit Halilaj, Gili Lavy, Shahryar Nashat and Suha Traboulsi are the artists chosen for the final and invited to exhibit the works they consider to be some of the most significant of their artistic practice and suitable for presenting themselves to the public in the context of collective exhibition.
The finalists composers, Gabriele Cosmi, Geoffrey Gordon, Pierre Mariétan, Catherine Milliken have been invited to compose new pieces which are then performed in concert, enabling the final jury and public to choose the winner. The concert, which took place in the exceptional setting of the Villa della Tesoriera, home to the Biblioteca Musicale Andrea Della Corte in Turin, is available in the CD recording enclosed with this volume.

Within the splendid settings of the Italian Cultural Institute in London will be announced the winners on 5 July 2017.
During the event the presentation of the sound work I am Doctor Merz. A voice Opera on Mario Merz: a reading of a selection of texts by the artist, accompanied by electronic tracks will take place .

This catalogue is published on the occasion of the finalists’ exhibition of the First Edition of the Mario Merz Prize, held at the Fondazione Merz from January 29 to April 12 2015.
“The International Mario Merz Award was created with the desire to start a new project which through the skills of an extensive international network of experts, could identify new emerging talent in art and, in parallel, enable young composers to present themselves with an innovative project of contemporary music.
With this publication we aim to document the final phase of the first edition of the prize, with some pictures of the works exhibited at the Fondazione Merz in Turin. [...] In the work of the contributors the prize seeks characteristics of internationality, generosity of thought, interest in social affairs and innovation. These qualities have been found in the works of Lida Abdul, Glenn Ligon, Naeem Mohaiemen, Anri Sala, Wael Shawky and in the compositions of Paolo Boggio, Arturo Corrales, Vassos Nicolaou, Cyrill Schürch and Vito Žuraj.” (Beatrice Merz, Willy Merz)