7 October 2011 – 8 January 2012
curated by Anna Mattirolo and Luigia Lonardelli

With the ambit of the celebrations of Art Povera – a series of events curated by Germano Celant on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of  the unification of Italy – MAXXI presents two major installations by Jannis Kounellis and Gilberto Zorio that dialogue with the Lymph sculptures by Giuseppe Penone, a permanent feature of the museum spaces.
With its dialogue between artificial and natural elements, Lymph sculptures synthesises one of the strands of research underlying the Arte Povera movement.
Kounellis’s installation, with its pile of sheet metal is a symbol of an ancestral culture that sees in steel and jute materials that reference primogenial energies. Its evocative power redesigns the museum atrium, entering into a mute dialogue with the exhibition space.
Zorio’s work Rome Canoe, created for this occasion and suspended in front of the great glazed wall on the museum’s upper floor visually involves the external piazza and establishes a relationship with the spaces.
The works will act as catalysers of energy, rendering visible the link that unites MAXXI with its public.

Gilberto Zorio, progetto per Canoa Roma, 2011 – MAXXI Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo. Comodato Art Collection UniCredit
Gilberto Zorio, Canoa Roma, 2011 – foto di Patrizia Tocci

Giuseppe Penone, Sculture di linfa, 2007
Collezione permanente MAXXI Arte

Jannis Kounellis, Senza titolo, 1988
Collezione privata, Roma

Production of the work by Gilberto Zorio was made possible thanks to MAXXI’s partnership with UniCredit.

We would like to thank the gallery OREDARIA Arti Contemporanee of Rome for its contribution to the realisation.