2018 exhibitions programme

Fatma Bucak. So as to find the strength to see
March 6–May 20, 2018
Turin, Fondazione Merz
Fatma Bucak’s new exhibition So as to find the strength to see is the artist’s first major exhibition in an Italian museum space. Fatma Bucak’s work addresses themes of great contemporary pertinence such as repression, expropriation, migration and state violence, which the artist develops through installations, performances, photographs, videos and sound environments. Her personal background and her belonging to the Kurdish minority is one of the elements that continues to inform her practice.

The artist follows a path made up of works that become the voice of forgotten chronicles, narrations of unexpressed thoughts, the re-examination of “individualities” excluded from history, of political or ethnic minorities, of women and socio-cultural structures in opposition to the established power.

Curated by Lisa Parola and Maria Centonze
Promoted by the Fondazione Merz with the Fondazione Sardi per l’Arte

With the support of SAHA Association

Mario Merz. Una domenica lunghissima dura approssimativamente dal 1966 e ora siamo al 1976…
June 6–September 16, 2018
Turin, Fondazione Merz
This is the fifth exhibition dedicated entirely to the works of Mario Merz since the inauguration of the Fondazione Merz.

The exhibition explores the evolving cultural climate and ferment that developed during the 1968 protest movements, selecting some works of significant historical importance and a wide selection of drawings, sketches and notes produced by the artist between 1966 and 1976.

Mario Merz will be the protagonist again in autumn (October 25, 2018–February 24, 2019) at the Hangar Bicocca in Milan with the Mario Merz: Igloos exhibition, curated by Vicente Todolí, which for the first time in Italy brings together more than 30 igloos.

Petrit Halilaj 
October 29, 2018–February 3, 2019
Turin, Fondazione Merz
The winner of the second edition of the Mario Merz Prize, Petrit Halilaj, has developed a new project for the spaces of the Fondazione Merz, consisting of large installations. The exhibition is anticipated by a site-specific intervention set up at the Zentrum Paul Klee in Bern (July 19–August 19, 2018).

The personal story of Petrit Halilaj (Kostërrc, Skenderaj-Kosovo 1986), deeply tied to his country of origin, Kosovo, is the starting point for his creative processes. The childhood experience of war and the flight and disorientation of his family is reflected in works, which often start from a personal story and then delve further into broader issues, through his optimistic, poetic and often ironic practice.

Curated by Leonardo Bigazzi

Punte Brillanti di Lance
The Fondazione Merz at Palermo
Palermo Italian Capital of Culture 2018
Manifesta 12
May–December 2018
Palermo, various venues
The Fondazione Merz is participating in the cultural programme being held in Palermo on the occasion of its nomination as Italian Capital of Culture 2018 and of Manifesta 12, with some projects that see various artists as protagonists. 

The Fondazione Merz’s activities are self-financed with the support of a network of donors, funding from Regione Piemonte and Compagnia di San Paolo, and thanks to the partnership with Lavazza. Some projects are made possible also thanks to the support of Fondazione CRT.

Nadia Biscaldi, Fondazione Merz press [​at​] fondazionemerz.org / T +39 011 19719436
Melissa Emery, SUTTON melissa [​at​] suttonpr.com / T +44 (0)207 183 3577