Fondazione Merz in Turin from April 27th to July 29th, 2007. This book presents works since 1954, illustrating 300 drawings by Mario Merz. The majority of the artist’s sketches have never before been published and there has been little theoretical attempt to understand this crucial aspect of his career. For him, with the exception of writing, drawing was the only medium to accompany life, at home and on one’s travels, not only because it requires little in the way of materials and can be done anywhere and everywhere, but because drawing can match our mental and physical movements.

This book illustrates from the series of drawings on Objet cache-toi (Object, hide yourself) to the themes of the tables, cups and groups dedicated to the Giardino dei gufi (Garden of the owls), Semi floreali volanti (Flying flower seeds) and the Disegni di Sidney (Sydney drawings), as well as the large works depicting the prehistoric “terrible animals”.

The book includes an essay by Dieter Schwarz (Director of Kunstmuseum in Winterthur), Claire Gilman and a selected chronology by Lara Conte.

The artist’s book is published on the occasion of Tanatosi (Thanatosis), a project by the Italian artist Marzia Migliora, curated by Beatrice Merz, held at the Merz Foundation in Torino, from 9 November 2006.

Perception is the guiding thread, and the use of all our senses becomes the unit of measure and the instrument for relating with the external world.

The artist develops this theme into a wider discourse, reflecting in particular on the state of blindness. This becomes a metaphor for fears which cannot be seen or touched but which are such ‘solid’ presences that the perception of reality is altered.

This cycle of works attempts to stimulate the seeing spectator to look not only by means of their eyes but also, for example, by creating a tactile relationship with objects or by listening to the sound that is refracted in space.

The artist gets the sighted person to put themself in the shoes of the person who cannot see, and gives the unsighted person various useful instruments for enjoying an exhibition of contemporary art.

Touching, looking, listening, counting... like an exercise that results from experience.

This book accompanies the project, recounting the stages of the exhibition through relief drawings and texts in Braille. It also includes the photographic documentation of the exhibition, together with a text by Jérôme Sans, artistic director of the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead (Great Britain).

The monograph reproduces the photographic documentation of the solo exhibitions held in 2005 at the Fondazione Merz, Castello di Rivoli Contemporary Art Museum and GAM Galleria Civica di Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, representing the most important spaces dedicated to contemporary art in Torino. This monograph, the most complete published collection on the artist, contains the complete iconographic documentation of his artworks, representing an archival documentation and providing an unprecedented understanding of Merz’s working process.
The volume includes a comprehensive artistic career history, bibliography and biographical chronology and which is the most updated and complete examination of the artist. The book is enriched by the inclusion of unpublished material showed for the first time at the Fondazione Merz. It documents Mario Merz selected artistic production, including paintings, sculpture, installations, drawings, neon and Fibonacci series works. Some critical essays complete the volume, providing a deep and high reflections on the artist and his significative role in contemporary art.

An illustrated overview of the architectural development of the Fondazione Merz, this is the book of the building. With beautiful photography it describes the finished building, the ideas behind it and the way in which it was designed and built. This visual narrative includes views of the construction and the Fondazione completed and in use.

The Fondazione’s site, a former heating plant for the Lancia factory, is a 1930s industrial building owned by the City of Turin and given in concession to the Fondazione Merz. It is located in Borgo San Paolo, an area now undergoing the urban and cultural revitalisation and refurbishment affecting much of Turin in recent years.

The refurbishment and restoration, supported by both private and public funds (City of Turin and the Regione Piemonte), has affected the whole building, defining the interior spaces and taking into account the cultural purposes the Fondazione intends pursuing. The building has an overall area of 3,200 m2, of which 1,400 for an exhibition area over three floors and including an external area.