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Averroè, 1967
GPO-0138
Averroes
Cotton fabric, steel pole with brass ornament
Pole with ornament h 197 cm, fifteen flags 70 x 100 cm each, overall dimensions variable
Each edition consists of fifteen different flags that all together involve all the national flags in existence in 1967. The height of the pole and the ornament at the top vary slightly from one edition to another.
| 1 | Fondazione Giulio e Anna Paolini, Turin |
| 2 | Kunst Museum, Winterthur |
| 3 | Private collection |
| 4 | Giorgio Marconi Collection, Milan |
| 5 | Private collection |
| 6 | Private collection, Milan |
| 7 | Present whereabouts unknown |
| 1 | Gift of the artist, 25 October 2012, archive no. GPO-0138 |
| 2 | Acquired in 2002, inventory no. S.2002.4 |
The work is meant to be installed exclusively indoors. The flags are arranged somewhat nonchalantly, as if they were waiting to be mounted: on a plinth, with the pole on a diagonal axis with respect to the sides of the plinth, or directly on the floor before a wall, with the pole upside down and propped up against the wall.
Each of the seven editions of the work includes fifteen different flags, fastened to a pole topped by an ornament. All together they include all the national flags in existence in 1967.
Averroè is all flags and no flags: rather than presenting a single flag, the artist offers fifteen flags (for a total of one hundred and five), without even one of them being visible in its entirety. One flag blends in with another, the one becomes many, or, vice versa, the whole becomes lost in the details. In other words, Averroè suspends the possibility of bringing together an idea and an absolute image.
“The flags I chose are not meaningful in themselves, they are not ‘those’ flags. They are simply more than one flag, so that they are those fifteen flags or fifteen other flags, or perhaps even all the flags except for those fifteen. The choice of the number and type of flag has nothing to do with how they are interpreted, but only with their numerical nature”,1 remarked Paolini in 1969. “I wanted to enact flag-waving to the umpteenth degree, capable of annulling the recognizability and the meaning of those flags”,2 he added with hindsight. Flags that are illegible in their individual identity lose their reason for existing – their “truth” – thus questioning the very concept of the flag.
1 G. Paolini in C. Lonzi, Autoritratto (Bari: De Donato Editore, 1969), p. 305, reprint (Milan: Et al./Edizioni, 2010), p. 233, English edition (Brussels-London: Divided Publishing, 2021), p. 268.
2 G. Paolini in conversation with I. Bernardi, 19 November 2012.
| 1968 | Bologna, Galleria de’ Foscherari, Arte Povera, 24 February - 15 March, repr. p. 13 (outdoor installation in the artist’s studio), referred to in the text by G. Celant p. 6; edition indicated as “1” in this entry; wall installation with a flag-holder. |
| 1968 | Trieste, Centro Arte Viva - Feltrinelli, Arte Povera, 23 March - 11 April, not repr. |
| 1968 | Turin, Galleria Notizie, Giulio Paolini, 10 April - 2 May, cited in the checklist of exhibited works (as “Averroè (II)”), not repr. |
| 1968 | Turin, Deposito d’arte presente, Summer; wall installation with a flag-holder. |
| 1973 | Ardesio, Palazzo del Comune, II° Incontro artistico ad Ardesio. Aspetti della ricerca estetica in Italia negli anni 60, from 22 July, repr. n. pag. (outdoor installation at the artist’s studio); wall installation with a flag-holder. |
| 1973 | Milan, Studio Marconi, Paolini: opere 1961/73, from 15 November, repr. n. pag. (outdoor installation at the artist’s studio); edition indicated as “4” in this entry; vertical installation, leaning against the wall. |
| 1974 | New York, The Museum of Modern Art, Projects: Giulio Paolini, 21 March - 14 April, no catalogue; edition indicated as “4” in this entry; vertical installation, leaning against the wall. |
| 1976 | Parma, Palazzo della Pilotta, Sala delle Scuderie, Giulio Paolini, 11 March - 21 April, repr. no. 78 (outdoor installation at the artist’s studio), referred to in the text by M. Fagiolo p. 21; vertical installation, leaning against the wall. |
| 1977 | Rome, Galleria Sperone, from 16 February; edition indicated as “6” in this entry; vertical installation, leaning against the wall in a corner of the room. |
| 1984 | Villeurbanne, Le Nouveau Musée, Giulio Paolini, 20 January - 18 March, vol. Images/Index, repr. p. 41 (outdoor installation at the artist’s studio); vertical installation, leaning against the wall upside down. |
| 1985-86 | Montreal, Musée d’art contemporain, Giulio Paolini, 7 July - 8 September, touring to: Vancouver, Vancouver Art Gallery, 29 November 1985 - 19 January 1986, same catalogue, same edition and same installation as in the solo exhibition in Villeurbanne 1984. |
| 1986 | Frankfurt, Frankfurter Kunstverein, 1960-1985. Aspekte der Italienischen Kunst, from 17 January, touring to: Berlin, Haus am Waldsee, March- April; Hannover, Kunstverein Hannover, May - June; Bregenz, Bregenzer Kunstverein, Künstlerhaus Thurn und Taxis, July - August; Vienna, Hochschule für angewandte Kunst, September - October, repr. p. 72; edition indicated as “4” in this entry. |
| 1986 | Charleroi, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Giulio Paolini, 15 February - 30 March, same catalogue, same edition and same installation as in the solo exhibition in Villeurbanne 1984; first horizontal installation, on a plinth. |
| 1986 | Stuttgart, Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, Giulio Paolini, 20 September - 2 November, cited in the checklist of exhibited works vol. 4 no. 11 p. 51, repr. vol. 3 p. 26 (outdoor installation at the artist’s studio) and on back cover (exhibition view, top left); edition indicated as “1” in this entry; outdoor installation, with flags facing the Rotonda, placed in the space of the opening located in the semicircular wall. |
| 1988 | Moscow, Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Artisti italiani contemporanei, May - June, col. repr. p. 73; edition indicated as “4” in this entry. |
| 1993 | Rivoli, Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, Un’avventura internazionale: Torino e le arti 1950-1970, 5 February - 25 April, col. repr. p. 334 (exhibition view); edition indicated as “1” in this entry; first installation on a Plexiglas plinth. |
| 1994-95 | New York, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, The Italian Metamorphosis, 1943-1968, 7 October 1994 - 22 January 1995, touring to: Wolfsburg, Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, 22 April - 13 August 1995, col. repr. no. 222 (installation on a Plexiglas plinth); edition indicated as “1” in this entry. |
| 2003 | Winterthur, Kunstmuseum Winterthur, Contemplazione: Italienische Kunst aus der Sammlung, 6 September - 23 November, no catalogue; edition indicated as “2” in this entry; wall installation with a flag-holder. |
| 2003 | Milan, Fondazione Prada, Giulio Paolini 1960-1972, 29 October - 18 December, cited in the checklist of exhibited works p. 401, col. repr. p. 241 (installation on a Plexiglas plinth); edition indicated as “4” in this entry; installation on a Plexiglas plinth. |
| 2004 | Vence, Fondation Émile Hugues, L’élémentaire, le vital, l’énergie. Arte Povera in Castello, 3 July - 3 October, col. repr. p. 75 (installation on a Plexiglas plinth); edition indicated as “1” in this entry; horizontal installation on a railing, with the flags dropping down as though they had been abandoned there. |
| 2005 | Winterthur, Kunstmuseum Winterthur, Giulio Paolini. Esposizione universale, 23 April - 24 June, cited in the checklist of exhibited works no. 2 p. 86, col. repr. n. pag. (exhibition view), referred to in the text by D. Schwarz pp. 19-20; edition indicated as “2” in this entry; installation on a Plexiglas plinth. |
| 2005-06 | Bergamo, GAMeC Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, War is over. 1945-2005. Da Picasso a Warhol a Cattelan, 15 October 2005 - 26 February 2006, col. repr. p. 73 (installation on a Plexiglas plinth), catalogue entry by G. Brambilla Ranise; edition indicated as “4” in this entry; installation on a Plexiglas plinth. |
| 2006 | Lugano, Museo Cantonale d’Arte, L’immagine del vuoto. Una linea di ricerca nell’arte in Italia 1958-2006, 7 October 2006 - 7 January 2007, cited in the checklist of exhibited works no. 102 p. 279, col. repr. p. 272 (installation on a Plexiglas plinth); edition indicated as “2” in this entry; installation on a Plexiglas plinth. |
| 2007 | Milan, Galleria Giò Marconi, Giulio Paolini, 4 May - 27 July; edition indicated as “4” in this entry; installation on a white plinth. |
| 2007 | Winterthur, Kunstmuseum Winterthur, Blühendes. Ein Blick auf die Sammlung, 26 August - 28 November, no catalogue; edition indicated as “2” in this entry; installation on a Plexiglas plinth. |
| 2008-09 | Stockholm, Moderna Museet, Time & Place: Milano-Torino 1958-1968, 1 May - 7 September, touring to Kunshtaus Zürich, Zurich (titled Hot Spots: Rio de Janeiro / Milano-Torino / Los Angeles 1956-1969), 13 February - 3 May 2009, Stockholm catalogue: cited in the checklist of exhibited works p. 169, col. repr. p. 131 (installation on a white plinth); Zurich catalogue: cited in the list of exhibited works p. 308, col. repr. p. 180 (installation on a white plinth); edition indicated as “4” in this entry; installation on a Plexiglas plinth. |
| 2010 | Milan, Rotonda di via Besana, Il grande gioco. Forme d'arte in Italia 1947-1989, 24 February - 9 May, col. repr. p. 167 (installation on a white plinth); edition indicated as “4” in this entry; installation on a white plinth. |
| 2011 | Bologna, MAMbo Museo d'Arte Moderna, Arte Povera 1968, 24 September - 26 December, cited in the checklist of exhibited works p. 682, col. repr. no. 318 (installation on a white plinth), referred to in the text by A. Costantini p. 198; edition indicated as “1” in this entry; floor installation with plinths, easels and a frame. |
| 2018 | Florence, Palazzo Strozzi, Nascita di una Nazione. Tra Guttuso, Fontana e Schifano, 16 March - 22 July, col. repr. pp. 260-261 (installation on a Plexiglas plinth), referred to in the text by F. Pola pp. 138-139; edition indicated as “1” in this entry; installation on a Plexiglas plinth. |
| 2022 | Winterthur, Kunst Museum, Nord - Süd. Perspektiven auf die Sammlung, Kunst Museum, Winterthur, 12 March - 11 September, no catalogue; edition indicated as “2” in this entry; installation on a Plexiglas plinth. |
| 2023 | Johannesburg, Wits Arts Museum, Arte Povera 1967-1971, 31 October - 9 December 2023; edition indicated as “4” in this entry; installation on a Plexiglas plinth. |
| • | G. Paolini in conversation with C. Lonzi, in C. Lonzi, Autoritratto (Bari: De Donato Editore, 1969), pp. 304-306; in the reprint (Milan: Et al./Edizioni, 2010), pp. 233-234; English edition (Brussels-London: Divided Publiishing, 2021), pp. 268-269. |
| • | G. Paolini in Giulio Paolini. Fuori programma, exhibition catalogue, Bergamo, GAMeC Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea (Cinisello Balsamo: Silvana Editoriale, 2006), p. 80 (extract from the unpublished interview with A. Ladopoulou, April 2005). |
| • | G. Paolini, "Lo sguardo nel vuoto", in L’immagine del vuoto. Una linea di ricerca nell’arte in Italia 1958-2006, exhibition catalogue, Lugano, Museo Cantonale d’Arte (Milan: Skira editore, 2006), p. 141. |
| • | T. Trini, “Paolini, le bandiere del senzabandiera”, in Domus 470 (Milan), January, 1969, p. 48, not repr. |
| • | G. Celant, Arte Povera (Milan: Gabriele Mazzotta Editore, 1969), repr. p. 149 (outdoor installation in the artist’s studio); idem in the English editions Art Povera (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1969) and Arte Povera. Conceptual Actual or Impossible Art? (London: Studio Vista, 1969). |
| • | M. Chiantelassa Gioia, "Invito nelle case di quattro famosi galleristi. 1. A Torino, dal giovane mercante delle avanguardie", in Bolaffiarte 3, no. 20 (Turin), May, 1972, p. 89, col. repr. p. 87 (installation view at the home of Gian Enzo Sperone); edition indicated as "6" in this entry; republished in Le case delle grandi collezioni di BolaffiArte (Turin: Giulio Bolaffi Editore, 1980), p. 57, col. repr. p. 55. |
| • | G. Celant, Giulio Paolini (New York: Sonnabend Press, 1972), p. 60, repr. no. 59 p. 59 (outdoor installation in the artist’s studio); republished in Giulio Paolini 1960-1972, edited by Id. (Milan: Fondazione Prada, 2003), p. 214; reprint (Cinisello Balsamo: Silvana Editoriale, 2019). |
| • | Albers, Arman, Arp, Balla, Bill, Burri, Christo, Fabro, Fontana, Gris, Herbin, Kandinsky, Klein, Léger, Manzoni, Melotti, Miró, Nigro, Paolini, Picabia, Rotella, Scarpitta, Soto, Tanguy, Tapies, Tinguely, Twombly, Vasarely. Scelta di opere a cura della Galleria Notizie di Torino, dello Studio Bellini di Milano e dello Studio “C” di Brescia (Turin: n.d. [1972]), col. repr. no. 47 (edition indicated as “5” in this entry). |
| • | I. Calvino, “La squadratura”, in G. Paolini, Idem (Turin: Giulio Einaudi editore, 1975), p. XIII, not repr.; republished in Semiotiche della pittura. I classici. Le ricerche, edited by L. Corrain (Rome: Meltemi editore, 2004), p. 234, not repr.; new edition (Milan: Electa, 2023), p. 15, not repr. |
| • | Catalogo nazionale Bolaffi d’arte moderna n. 10, vol. I: Critico-finanziario (Turin: Giulio Bolaffi Editore, 1975), repr. p. 379 (outdoor installation in the artist’s studio). |
| • | T. Trini, “Paolini. Le sprigioni”, in Studio Marconi 3-4 (Milan), 5 February 1976, repr. p. 5 (exhibition view New York 1974). |
| • | Giulio Paolini. Werke und Schriften 1960-1980, (Lucerne: Kunstmuseum Luzern, 1981), repr. n. pag. (outdoor installation in the artist’s studio). |
| • | Identité Italienne. L’art en Italie depuis 1959, edited by G. Celant (Paris-Florence: Centre Georges Pompidou and Centro Di, 1981), p. 249, repr. (outdoor installation in the artist’s studio). |
| • | Arte italiana 1960-1982, exhibition catalogue, London, Hayward Gallery, 1982, repr. p. 174 (edition indicated as “4” in this entry). |
| • | Eine Kunst-Geschichte in Turin 1965-1983 / Una storia d’arte a Torino 1965-1983, exhibition catalogue, Cologne, Kölnischer Kunstverein (Turin: Daniela Piazza Editore, 1983), repr. p. 14 (installation view at Deposito d’arte presente, Turin). |
| • | Il modo italiano, exhibition catalogue, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Institute of Contemporary Art, 1984, vol. 1, repr. p. 121 (outdoor installation in the artist’s studio). |
| • | Del Arte Povera a 1985, exhibition catalogue, Palacio de Cristal, Palacio de Velázquez, Parque del Retiro, Madrid 1985, repr. n. pag. (outdoor installation in the artist’s studio). |
| • | S. Vertone, “Non tutto qui”, in Giulio Paolini. "Tutto qui", exhibition catalogue, Ravenna, Pinacoteca Comunale, Loggetta Lombardesca (Ravenna: Agenzia Editoriale Essegi, 1985), p. 35, repr. no. 12 (outdoor installation in the artist’s studio). |
| • | G. Celant, Arte Povera. Storie e protagonisti / Art Povera. Histories and Protagonists (Milan: Electa, 1985), repr. p. 56 (outdoor installation in the artist’s studio); idem in the reprint included in G. Celant, Arte Povera. Storia e storie (Milan: Mondadori Electa, 2011). |
| • | G. Celant, The Knot. Arte Povera (Turin: Umberto Allemandi & C., 1985), repr. pp. 12 (installation at Deposito d’arte presente, Turin), 221 (outdoor installation in the artist’s studio); Italian edition: Arte Povera (Turin: Umberto Allemandi & C., 1989), repr. pp. 21, 227; French edition: Arte Povera (Villeurbanne: Art Édition, 1989), repr. pp. 29, 235. |
| • | Il Museo Sperimentale di Torino. Arte italiana degli anni Sessanta nelle collezioni della Galleria Civica d’Arte Moderna, exhibition catalogue, edited by M. Bandini and R. Maggio Serra, Rivoli, Castello di Rivoli and Turin, Musei Civici di Torino (Milan: Fabbri Editori, 1985), repr. p. 69 (installation view at Deposito d’arte presente, Turin). |
| • | G. Paolini, Suspense. Breve storia del vuoto in tredici stanze (Florence: Hopeful Monster editore, 1988), repr. p. 67 (outdoor installation in the artist’s studio). |
| • | G. Joppolo, Arte povera. Actualité des arts plastiques 76 (Paris: Centre National de Documentation Pédagogique, 1988), repr. p. 10 (outdoor installation in the artist’s studio). |
| • | F. Poli, Giulio Paolini (Turin: Lindau, 1990), repr. no. 72 (outdoor installation in the artist’s studio). |
| • | Giulio Paolini. "Una collezione ’60/’80" (Milan: Studio Marconi, 1990), col. repr. p. 135 (erroneously dated “1975” and incorrect dimensions; edition indicated as “4” in this entry). |
| • | F. Poli, Minimalismo, Arte Povera, Arte Concettuale (Bari: Editori Laterza, 1995), col. repr. 119 (installation on a plexiglas plinth). |
| • | Biennale di Venezia: XLVI Esposizione Internazionale d’Arte. Venezia e la Biennale: percorsi del gusto, exhibition catalogue, Ca’ Pesaro, Venezia, La Biennale di Venezia, (Milan: Fabbri Editori, 1995), col. repr. p. 101 (exhibition view Milan 1973). |
| • | B. Ruhrberg, “Arte Povera. Zur Genese eines Begriffs und zur Rezeption einer ‘Bewegung’”, in Arte Povera. Arbeiten und Dokumente aus der Sammlung Goetz 1958 bis heute (Munich: Kunstverlag Ingvild Goetz, 1997), p. 22, not repr.; English edition (2001): p. 27, not repr. |
| • | Giulio Paolini. Von heute bis gestern / Da oggi a ieri, exhibition catalogue, Graz, Neue Galerie im Landesmuseum Joanneum (Ostfildern-Ruit: Cantz Verlag, 1998), col. repr. 220 (installation on a plexiglas plinth). |
| • | L. Parmesani, L’Arte del Secolo. Movimenti, teorie, scuole e tendenze 1900-2000 (Milan: Skira editore, 1998), repr. p. LVII (edition indicated as “4” in this entry). |
| • | G. Celant, Un folle amore. La Collezione Luigi e Peppino Agrati (Milan: Skira editore, 2002), col. repr. p. 283 (installation with a flag-holder), entry p. 403 cat. no. 391 (as “Averroè III”). |
| • | 82. Jahresbericht 2002 Kunstverein Winterthur, (Winterthur: Kunstverein Winterthur, 2003), pp. 10, 21, 48, repr. p. 21 (edition indicated as “2” in this entry). |
| • | L.V. Masini, L’arte del Novecento. Dall’Espressionismo al Multimediale, vol. XI: L’Arte come idea (Florence-Rome: Giunti and Gruppo Editoriale Espresso, 2003), col. repr. no. 2845 p. 558 (edition indicated as “4” in this entry). |
| • | Autobiografia di una galleria. Lo Studio Marconi 1965/1992 (Milan: Skira editore, 2004), col. repr. p. 136 (erroneously dated “1975”; with a flag-holder; edition indicated as “4” in this entry). |
| • | A. Zevi, Peripezie del dopoguerra nell’arte italiana (Turin: Giulio Einaudi editore, 2005), pp. 316-317, not repr. |
| • | Land Art, Concettuale, Arte Povera, Art Now. Corriere della Sera 6, edited by F. Gualdoni (Milan: Skira editore, 2007), col. repr. no. 26 p. 48 (as “Averroè III”; edition indicated as “3” in this entry). |
| • | D. Schwarz, Kunstmuseum Winterthur (Zurich: Fondation BNP Paribas Suisse – Institut suisse pour l’étude de l’art, 2007), p. 96, col. repr. (exhibition view Winterthur 2005); idem in the English and German editions; edition indicated as “2” in this entry). |
| • | M. Disch, Giulio Paolini. Catalogo ragionato 1960-1999, vol. 1 (Milan: Skira editore, 2008), cat. no. 138 pp. 138-139, repr. (outdoor installation in the artist’s studio and exhibition view Villeurbanne 1984) and col. repr. (exhibition view Rivoli 1993 on a Plexiglas plinth). |
| • | A. Portesio, “‘Quello che per il pittore è la squadratura della tela, per lo scrittore è l’incipit’. L’arte di Giulio Paolini raccontata da Italo Calvino. Con un’intervista a Giulio Paolini”, in Avanguardia 14, no. 40 (Rome), June, 2009, pp. 83-84, not repr. |
| • | F. Pola, "Il Museo sperimentale. Dall'utopia alle nuove identità", in Torino sperimentale 1959-1969. Una storia della cronaca: il sistema delle arti come avanguardia, edited by L.M. Barbero (Turin: Umberto Allemandi & C., 2010), p. 370, col. repr. p. 367 (exhibition view Rivoli 1993 on a Plexiglas plinth). |
| • | Che fare? Arte povera – Die historischen Jahre, exhibition catalogue, Vaduz, Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein (Heidelberg: Kehrer Verlag, 2010), repr. p. 326 (exhibition view Bologna 1967, idem in the English edition). |
| • | Gli irripetibili anni '60. Un dialogo tra Roma e Milano, exhibition catalogue, Rome, Fondazione Roma Museo (Milan: Skira editore, 2011), col. repr. p. 208 (installation on a plexiglas plinth). |
| • | A. Hindry, “Pourquoi l'ARTE POVERA s'est imposée dans l'histoire de l'art”, in Beaux Arts magazine 330 (Paris), December, 2011, col. repr. p. 114 (exhibition view Bologna 2011). |
| • | C. Lonzi, Autoportrait, edited by G. Zapperi (Paris-Zurich: La Maison Rouge and JRP|Ringier, 2012), pp. 172-173, not repr. |
| • | L’arte moderna in Intesa Sanpaolo. La collezione Luigi e Peppino Agrati, edited by C. Pirovano and F. Tedeschi (Milan: Electa, 2012), cat. no. 367 pp. 301-303 entry by K. McManus, col. repr. p. 301. |
| • | Kunstmuseum Winterthur. Katalog der Gemälde und Skulpturen/5, edited by D. Schwarz (Winterthur-Dusseldorf: Kunstmuseum Winterthur and Richter Verlag, 2017), pp. 53-56, repr. p. 54 (outdoor installation in the artist’s studio), col. repr. p. 55 (exhibition view of the work installed as part of the museum's collection; edition indicated as “2” in this entry). |
| • | A. Soldaini, “‘Cos’altro c’è da dire?’”, in Giulio Paolini. A come Accademia, exhibition catalogue, Rome, Accademia Nazionale di San Luca (Rome: Gangemi Editore, 2023), p. 29, col. repr. (installation on a plexiglas plinth), repr. pp. 141 (exhibition view Milan 1973), 148 (exhibition view Parma 1976), col. repr. p. 199 (exhibition view Stuttgart 1986). |
Entry by Maddalena Disch, 16/07/2024
