. E Prini

This first monograph on Italian artist Emilio Prini and his radical approach to art.

This is the first monograph dedicated to one of Italy’s most enigmatic and complex artistic figures, Emilio Prini (1943–2016), a key figure of Arte Povera whose work has never been fully surveyed. Structured chronologically from 1966 to 2016, it examines his work via a systematic iconographic and bibliographic analysis of Prini’s archives along with the institutions he exhibited at. As he considered the medium secondary to the concept, no distinction is made between installations, sculptures, invitations, posters, or documents; and by presenting the works first individually and then situated in different contexts, the book provides a unique insight into his particular methodology. Prini also consistently rejected the notion of the artwork as a closed and defined object, interrogating the very framework of the exhibition format. In our current context, marked by the overproduction and overconsumption of images and objects, the ongoing relevance of Prini’s independent, elusive, and uncompromising approach lies in his questioning the necessity of production itself.

The volume includes a text by curator Luca Lo Pinto and scholarly contributions from Alexander Alberro, Stefano Chiodi, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Timotea Prini, and Andrea Viliani, alongside artist interventions by four international artists: Lara Favaretto, Adam Harrison, John Knight, and Anri Sala. It has been designed by Experimental Jetset, one of the most influential graphic design studios working today.

Copublished by MACRO–Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome

Luca Lo Pinto is an Italian curator and editor. He was the artistic director of MACRO–Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome from 2020–25, and a curator of Kunsthalle Wien from 2014–19. He is co-founder of the magazine and publishing house NERO. He produced a range of solo exhibitions with artists including Emilio Prini, Simone Forti, Nathalie du Pasquier, Jason Dodge, Tony Cokes, Cinzia Ruggeri, Camille Henrot, Olaf Nicolai, Pierre Bismuth, Babette Mangolte, Lawrence Weiner, Gelatin & Liam Gillick, and Charlemagne Palestine, as well as publications with Mario Garcia Torres and Mario Diacono.

Figure de l'Arte Povera, Emilio Prini (1943-2016) est l'auteur d'une œuvre unique, défiant la perception et l'expérience du spectateur. Utilisant la photographie, le son et l'écrit, l'artiste italien s'attachait à révéler la relation entre la réalité et sa reproduction.