Education and Mediation

Alessandro Rabottini and Vincenzo De Bellis: Strata: Italian Art since 2000 – The Words of the Artists

Thursday, Oct 26, 2023, 7 pm – 8 pm

Book Presentation and Talk with Alessandro Rabottini

Moderation: Luise von Nobbe (curatorial department, Fridericianum) and Moritz Wesseler (director, Fridericianum)

Free of charge, no prior registration needed.

Language: English

The publication portrays several generations of artists and encompasses an array of diverse approaches to painting, sculpture, film, performance, installation, social and collective intervention, photography, and activism. The title of the book, Strata (the Latin term that denotes the gradual concretion of multiple layers of rock) is thus deployed as a metaphor for the multiplicity of languages and sensibilities that have brought the cultural debate to life in Italy over the past two decades. Moreover, the authors hope that the book will also function as a tool for younger artists, for whom the experiences of the previous generations may constitute a direct resource, enabling them to dive straight into the body of accumulated knowledge that would otherwise be mediated by the current educational hierarchy. Strata addresses a number of pressing issues that artists today have to face, including their relationship with histories, traditions and influences; how the personal is interwoven with the professional dimension; the social and political value that art still retains; and how to rethink the field of education today. With contributions by, amongst others, Yuri Ancarani, Rosa Barba, Roberto Cuoghi, Lara Favaretto, Formafantasma, Petrit Halilaj, Diego Marcon, Paola Pivi and Marinella Senatore.

ALESSANDRO RABOTTINI (Atri, 1976) is a writer and curator, and is currently artistic director of the Fondazione In Between Art Film. He was previously artistic director of miart, external curator of the Museo Madre in Naples, and chief curator of GAMeC in Bergamo.

VINCENZO DE BELLIS (Castellana Grotte, 1977) is a curator, and is currently global director of fairs and exhibition platforms for Art Basel (Basel, Hong Kong, Miami and Paris). Previously, he was curator and associate director of the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; artistic director of miart, Milan, and founder and co-director of Peep-Hole Art Center, Milan.

Strata has been supported by the Italian Council (10th edition, 2021), the program to promote Italian contemporary art around the world by the Directorate-General for Contemporary Creativity of the Italian Ministry of Culture.

2023, softcover, 720 pages
Co-published with Les Presses du réel
25,00 €

Proposing entity
Fondazione Arnaldo Pomodoro

With the contribution of
Fondazione In Between Art Film

Cultural partners
Camden Art Centre, London, UK
Fondazione Arnaldo Pomodoro, Milan, Italy
Museum Fridericianum, Kassel, Germany
Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, Vaduz, Liechtenstein