“Pirelli HangarBicocca presents ‘Igloos’, a show by Mario Merz (Milan, 1925–2003), bringing together his most iconic group of works: the ‘Igloos’, dating from 1968 until the end of his life. The exhibition spans the whole 5,500 square metres of the Navate and the Cubo of Pirelli HangarBicocca, placing the visitor at the heart of a constellation of over 30 large-scale works in the shape of an igloo: an unprecedented landscape of great visual impact.
Fifty years since the creation of the first igloo, the exhibition provides an overview of Mario Merz’s work, of its historical importance and great innovative reach. Gathered from numerous private collections and international museums, including the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid, the Tate Modern in London, the Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin and the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven, the ‘igloos’ will be displayed together in such a large number for the first time.” — Pirelli HangarBicocca
Mario Merz. La goccia d’acqua, 1987. Installation view at Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milan, 2018. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Nationalgalerie. Courtesy Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milan. Photo: Renato Ghiazza © Mario Merz, by SIAE 2018
Mario Merz, “Igloos”, exhibition view at Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milan, 2018. Courtesy Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milan. Photo: Renato Ghiazza © Mario Merz, by SIAE 2018
Mario Merz, “Igloos”, exhibition view at Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milan, 2018. Courtesy Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milan. Photo: Renato Ghiazza © Mario Merz, by SIAE 2018
Mario Merz, “Igloos”, exhibition view at Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milan, 2018. Courtesy Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milan. Photo: Renato Ghiazza © Mario Merz, by SIAE 2018
Mario Merz, “Igloos”, exhibition view at Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milan, 2018. Courtesy Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milan. Photo: Renato Ghiazza © Mario Merz, by SIAE 2018
Mario Merz, “Igloos”, exhibition view at Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milan, 2018. Courtesy Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milan. Photo: Renato Ghiazza © Mario Merz, by SIAE 2018
Mario Merz, “Igloos”, exhibition view at Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milan, 2018. Courtesy Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milan. Photo: Renato Ghiazza © Mario Merz, by SIAE 2018
Mario Merz, “Igloos”, exhibition view at Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milan, 2018. Courtesy Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milan. Photo: Renato Ghiazza © Mario Merz, by SIAE 2018
Mario Merz. Noi giriamo intorno alle case o le case girano intorno a noi?, 1977 (reconstruction 1985). Installation view at Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milan, 2018. Tate. Courtesy Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milan. Photo: Renato Ghiazza © Mario Merz, by SIAE 2018
Mario Merz. Senza titolo, 1985. Installation view at Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milan, 2018. Collezione Merz, Turin. Courtesy Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milan. Photo: Renato Ghiazza © Mario Merz, by SIAE 2018
Mario Merz. Igloo del Palacio de las Alhajas, 1982. Installation view at Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milano, 2018. Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid. Courtesy Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milan. Photo: Renato Ghiazza © Mario Merz, by SIAE 2018
Mario Merz. Sentiero per qui, 1986. Installation view at Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milano, 2018. “la Caixa” Collection. Contemporary Art. Courtesy Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milan. Photo: Renato Ghiazza © Mario Merz, by SIAE 2018
Mario Merz, Schaffhausen, Switzerland © Mario Merz, by SIAE 2018
Vicente Todolí said, “As its starting point, the exhibition ‘Igloos’ takes Mario Merz’s solo show curated by Harald Szeemann in 1985 at the Kunsthaus in Zurich, where all the types of igloos produced up until that point were brought together to be arranged ‘as a village, a town, a ‘Città irreale’ in the large exhibition hall,’ as Szeemann states. Our exhibition at Pirelli HangarBicocca will be a once-in-a-generation opportunity to re-live that experience (but expanded from 17 to more than 30 igloos) created by one of the most important artists of the post-war generation.”
Exhibition curated by Vicente Todolí, Artistic Director of Pirelli HangarBicocca, and realised in collaboration with the Fondazione Merz.