BOOK: Italian Art since 2000, Les Presses Du Réel & Lenz Press

An interdisciplinary perspective upon Italian visual culture through the words of 37 artists active from 2000 to today, the book “Strata – Italian Art since 2000 – The Words of the Artists” published by Les presses du réel & Lenz Press, is a collection of extensive individual conversations between contemporary Italian artists and authors Vincenzo De Bellis and Alessandro Rabottini. The conversations address 4 thematic axes that traverse the Italian artistic production of the last two decades: the reflection on matter in the field of sculpture and installation, the spatial interpretation of the film medium, the participatory aspect of the performative act, and the pictorial image as accumulation and duration. Conceived as the personal account of collaborations, friendships, and professional relationships that the authors have nurtured over the past twenty years, the publication offers a polyphonic overview of Italy’s artistic output through the very medium that makes such a collective history possible: the words of the artists themselves. The conversations explore pivotal moments in each artist’s career, blending formal, conceptual, and political concerns with biographical anecdotes, and in so doing provide an intimate look into the practices and positions of artists.-Efi Michalarou