Piero Manzoni's works return to his hometown, 60 years after his death

From June 25 to October 1, 2023, the Museum of Printing in Soncino (Cremona), the hometown of Piero Manzoni (Soncino, 1933 - Milan, 1963) will dedicate a tribute to the great artist on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of his untimely death. The exhibition, entitled Relazioni (im)possibili. The fil rouge from Piero Manzoni to today, curated by Demis Martinelli and Rosalia Pasqualino di Marineo, is organized by the Piero Manzoni Foundation of Milan and the Pro loco APS of Soncino, and brings back the artist’s works to his hometown, but not only: in fact, the project stems from the desire to investigate some relationships.

The first relationship is the one between Piero Manzoni and some artists of the most recent generations, invited to exhibit together with him: Sergio Breviario, Dario Buccino, Gianni Caravaggio, Nicolò Cecchella, Barbara Colombo, Massimo De Caria, Carlo Dell’Acqua, Paola Di Bello, Andrea Francolino, Carlo and Fabio Ingrassia, Giovanni Morbin, Liliana Moro, Cesare Pietroiusti, David Reimondo, Fabio Roncato and Skygolpe. Trying to uncover the legacy of one of the cornerstones of Italian art is not always easy or obvious: those who make art today certainly know Manzoni and his work, but not always in an exhaustive way, also because he has entered deeply into the DNA of these artists, so that he is no longer rightly recognizable and acknowledged. So, the curators looked for precisely this “Manzonian blood” that could flow in each of the sixteen invitees.

For some of them the Soncino-born artist was somehow part of their biography: a very young Liliana Moro was thunderstruck by the small photo of an Achrome, sandwiches and kaolin, which gave her a glimpse of the freedom of today’s art making; Cesare Pietroiusti in 1981 found himself transporting several of Manzoni’s works from Milan to Rome for an exhibition, in the trunk of his Fiat 128; Sergio Breviario declared that he decided to be an artist because he wanted to be beautiful, like Piero Manzoni.

The research, shared with the invited artists in an attempt to find the work of each of them that could be related to one of Manzoni’s, involved meetings and exchanges, in which the role of the curators was not exactly clear-cut, as the choice emerged from the relationship with the artist. The result has led to a shortlist of works that are very diverse in technique and meaning, about half of which were created especially for this occasion, thus testifying to the variety of paths that Manzoni has in some ways traveled and pioneered.

Accompanying the exhibition is a catalog containing texts written specially by eight authors: Luca Bochicchio, Daniela Ferrari, Flaminio Gualdoni, Gaspare Luigi Marcone, Mirco Marino, Raffaella Perna, Marco Senaldi and Giorgio Verzotti. Partly for fun and partly to crack the usual patterns the sixteen artists were matched with the authors by a roulette wheel, drawing lots and thus letting fate decide. Finally, a further challenge was the attempt to create a harmonious relationship between the works and the space that hosts them, the fascinating Museum of Printing, a strongly characterized place: cast-iron presses, lithographic stone matrices and typographic cases frame the work of Manzoni and the other contemporary artists.

“We are delighted that Piero Manzoni is returning to his hometown in a big way, after several years when he was missing,” say Elena and Giuseppe Manzoni of Chiosca, president and vice president of the Manzoni Foundation, respectively. “In Soncino, in fact, our family used to spend the holidays and part of the summer, and there are several memories, especially of childhood, linked to this ancient village and to games with Piero. This project, however, introduces us to Manzoni the artist, whose work contributed much to the renewal of Italian art and beyond. And what better way to highlight this change than by placing alongside his work that of more recent generations? The invited artists, in fact, show us how the paths opened by Piero Manzoni have borne good and numerous fruits, among them very heterogeneous. For making this project possible, heartfelt thanks go to the artists, the authors of the essays, the curators, but first and foremost to the Pro loco of Soncino and the Museum of Printing that hosts the exhibition, with special thanks to Giuseppe Cavalli, a dynamic and capable promoter of the Soncino initiatives dedicated to Manzoni on this anniversary.”

“On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of his death and the 90th anniversary of his birth, it was not possible not to remember the figure of Piero Manzoni, one of the greatest artists who appeared in the stimulating climate of the 1950s and 1960s,” says Giuseppe Cavalli, managing director of the Museo della Stampa in Soncino. “Piero Manzoni was born in Soncino on July 13, 1933, which is why the Pro loco-Museo della Stampa of Soncino asked the Piero Manzoni Foundation to collaborate on events in his hometown. The exhibition, of which this catalog is an integral part, brings together many of the master’s works, including Merda d’artista, made in 1961, perhaps Manzoni’s most famous and at the same time least understood work. I trust that this exhibition, curated by Demis Martinelli and Rosalia Pasqualino di Marineo, director of the Piero Manzoni Foundation, will serve to deepen our knowledge of Piero and the sixteen artists who have taken up his legacy. I would like to thank the sponsors, including some private individuals who prefer to remain anonymous, because it is thanks to their generosity and the sensitivity with which they have understood the importance of the anniversary, that it has been possible to produce this catalog, the exhibition, the previous initiatives and those that will follow in the coming months.”

The exhibition is organized by the Piero Manzoni Foundation, Milan and Pro loco Soncino APS with the support of: Bes Hotel, Bonizzi srl, Fornaci Laterzi Danesi spa, Fondazione Comunitaria della Provincia di Cremona, ITN snc di Maccabelli e Scarpini, Liberty House, Micron srl, Azienda Oro Verde, 8volante srl, Prandelli F.lli srl, Vanoli Ferro spa, Zuccotti Assicurazioni srl.

Piero Manzoni's works return to his hometown, 60 years after his death

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