MODENA, ITALY.- Palazzo S.ta Margherita presents Pop Art Italia 1958-1968, on view through July 3, 2005. Pop Art is a world-wide phenomenon although it is usually seen by art critics, at least in its greatest and purest guise, as part and parcel of Anglo-Saxon culture, the USA first and foremost. There is a certain truth to this, albeit a half-truth. While it is undeniable that the harbingers of this medium were first found in British culture in the ‘50s, and that the broadest development of the language was to be found in 1960s America, it is equally true that Continental Europe was also witness to a range of significant, autonomous experiences which, after some 40 years since the explosion of the phenomenon, merit an in-depth historical reappraisal.

While the dates, the characteristics and the quality of the works in question leave no doubt as to the existence of an Italian Pop language with its own well-defined and recognisable identity, there is just as little doubt that Pop Italiana fell foul of critical acclaim right from the outset. A quick browse through the pages of what was the most popular text on the subject during the ‘60s proves the point; the book by Lucy Lippard grants precious little space to the artists from Italy, most of which is used to provide explicit criticism of their works. According to Lippard, the Italian Pop movement represents no more than an imported trend, unclear in its expression and basically “lagging behind” compared to the contemporary movements in Britain and the States. This more or less involuntary shunning of the Italian group had a knock-on effect on later writings, in which there were very few Italian artists considered to some extent worthy of recognition on the international scene. Those who did all in fact belonged to a current somewhat estranged from the true definition of Pop Art at the time.