This conversation between Teresa Kittler, 2020–21 scholar-in-residence at Magazzino Italian Art in Cold Spring, New York, and Dia’s associate curator Matilde Guidelli-Guidi, will focus on the performative azioni (actions) of Mario and Marisa Merz. Supported by archival material and original research, the discussion will shed light on a lesser-known aspect of the artists’ practice and  situate their actions within a broader history of performance. 

Teresa Kittler is the 2020–21 scholar-in-residence at Magazzino Italian Art, Cold Spring, New York, and a lecturer in modern and contemporary art at University of York, England. She received her PhD at University College London in 2014. Kittler’s research focuses on artistic practices from 1945 to the present day, with a special interest in Italian postwar art and the work of artists Marisa Merz and Carla Accardi. Her most recent essays include “Marisa Merz: Actions, Interactions, and Performative Sculpture,” in Entrare nell’opera (2019) and “Reimagining the Family Album: Carla Lonzi’s Autoritratto (1969),” in Feminism and Art in Postwar Italy: The Legacy of Carla Lonzi (2020). Her current book project, Habitats: Art and the Environment Italy, 1945–1975, examines artistic practice in Italy through the lens of habitat in the three decades following World War II. 

Matilde Guidelli-Guidi is Dia’s associate curator. She recently organized Mario Merz’s exhibition at Dia Beacon, which opened for long-term view on November 20, 2020.