Italian Pop Art is a great protagonist in Pistoia

The “new” Pistoia Musei Foundation – renewed last year, chaired by Antonio Marrese and directed by Monica Preti – presents itself to the public for the first time with a new and rich exhibition season. The first event on the calendar turns the spotlight on the development of Pop Art in Italy. Bringing together over seventy works, the ’60 Pop Art Italia exhibition, curated by Walter Guadagnini, can be visited until 14 July at Palazzo Buontalenti in Pistoia. ITALIAN POP ART ON EXHIBITION IN PISTOIA Born in England in 1956 thanks to the London art critic Lawrence Alloway, and then exported to the United States, where it flourished thanks to Andy Warhol’s Factory, Pop Art arrived in Italy in 1964, taking root between Rome, Milan and Turin. A revolution that sees its epicenter in the capital, with the Piazza del Popolo School – where it attracts the attention of artists such as Mario Schifano, Tano Festa, Mimmo Rotella, Giosetta Fioroni and Franco Angeli -, finding an international stage with the Biennale of Venice that same year. Retracing this epic decade, the exhibition route winds through the Sixties, touching the entire Italian territory. Starting from Venice, we then travel to the Eternal City: on display we find the famous Detail of the Birth of Venus by Giosetta Fioroni and the puzzles by Renato Mambor, passing through the famous posters by Mimmo Rotella and the epic My Marilyn by Roberto Crippa. FROM MIMMO ROTELLA TO ANDY WARHOLThe focus on the School of Pistoia – unique in the panorama of the time – could not be missing, where we find the works of four authors, Roberto Barni, Umberto Buscioni, Adolfo Natalini and Gianni Ruffi, characterized by an innovative language and very personal. We then continue with an in-depth analysis of the Milanese scene – animated by Enrico Baj, Galleria Milano and Studio Marconi – and Palermo: in each city, this unstoppable current asserts itself with distinct regional variables. The visit itinerary ends with an unmissable tribute to two “sacred monsters” of international Pop Art: the British Richard Hamilton – whose famous Swingeing London we can admire – and Andy Warhol, present with a silk-screen print from the Flowers series.[Immagine in apertura: Installation view della mostra ’60 Pop Art Italia, 2024, Pistoia. Courtesy Fondazione Pistoia Musei, © photo Ela Bialkowska, OKNOstudio]