Published on the occasion of 'Giulio Paolini: To Be or Not to Be' initially held at MACRO 2013 and then at Whitechapel Gallery, 2014, this fully illustrated catalogue features essays by leading international scholars including Ilaria Bernardi, Gabriele Guercio, Daniel F. Herrmann, Bartolomeo Pietromarchi and Barry Schwabsky and well as extensive reference material.
Italian artist Giulio Paolini’s (b.1940) installations are deeply rooted in art history from the Renaissance to today - with plaster casts of classical sculptures to reproductions of iconic paintings by Chardin, Lotto and Velázquez. His belief that a work of art is not just itself in the ‘here and now’ but also the record of earlier traditions, has led him to investigate art's relation to the past. Driven by an exploration into the nature of images, the making of art and the role of the artist, Paolini asserts that ‘to be authentic, a work of art must forget about its author'.
Giulio Paolini was born in Genoa, Italy, in 1940. In 1959 he graduated from the Giambattista Bodoni State Industrial Technical Institute for Graphic and Photographic Arts. He began his artistic research in 1960 and created the key work Disegno geometrico. In 1964, Paolini had his first solo exhibition at La Salita in Rome. He was invited by Germano Celant to take part in a series of Arte Povera exhibitions from 1967 to 1971. Paolini was nominated as Chevalier des Arts et des lettres in 1995 and then Officer in 2002. Paolini’s work was included in past editions of dOCUMENTA, Kassel, in 1972, 1977, 1982 and 1992. In 2004 Paolini together with his wife, Anna, and his closest collaborators, founded the Giulio and Anna Foundation. He currently lives and works in Turin, Italy.
Paperback, 168 pages, 240 x 280 mm
ISBN 9788-8-7462-615-1
First published 2014.