artforum.com, October 11, 2011

TRIPLE CANDIE'S ARTE POVERA EXHIBITION PULLED FROM ARTISSIMA

Triple Candie, a Philadelphia-based alternative space, has announced the cancelation of their Arte Povera exhibition, which was commissioned for 2011 edition of the contemporary art fair Artissima in Turin, Italy. Discussing the reason for the cancellation in an email to Triple Candie, Francesco Manacorda, Artissima’s director, said the show could be “very offensive to artists and gallerists who participate in the fair” and “negatively impact government funding of the arts in Italy and potentially threaten the viability of Artissima.” Triple Candie learned of the cancellation only when it saw the exhibition was not listed on Artissima’s website. The cancellation was then confirmed by email.

Triple Candie’s exhibition posited the idea that Arte Povera never existed. The organization stated in a press release issued today that they “welcomed the opportunity to curate in the city that reared Arte Povera.” They had been invited to curate an exhibition for the non-commercial section of the fair and notes that Artissima, in its letter of invitation, acknowledged Triple Candie’s “curatorial experimentations . . . practice of reenactment and accessibility . . . freedom from authorship . . . focus on the relationship between the value of the art object, the material and its documentation.” Triple Candie presented four ideas, Artissima selected one, and a contract was signed. T

he exhibition was intended to coincide with “Arte Povera 2011,” a five museum show organized by the Italian critic and curator Germano Celant, who coined the term “arte povera” in 1967. “Whereas Celant’s project would serve to verify the movement’s legitimacy and legacy, the canceled show was meant to expose a messier historic reality, one infused with doubt and contradiction,” said Triple Candie.