Mariuccia Secol's Feminist Art Legacy Celebrated in Major Survey at Muzeum Susch
At 97, pioneering Italian artist Mariuccia Secol is the subject of a major solo exhibition, "Unraveling," at Muzeum Susch in Switzerland, running until November 1, 2026. Curated by Monika Branicka and Eva Brioschi, the show spans over 200 works from her six-decade career, highlighting her feminist art practice. Secol, born in Castellanza in 1929, began her artistic training under Galliano Mazzon and later founded the Gruppo Immagine di Varese with Milli Gandini and Mirella Tognola. In the 1960s, she ran a painting and poetry workshop at the Bizzozero psychiatric hospital in Varese, inspired by Art Brut. She participated in the 1978 Venice Biennale with the group. In 1974, she co-organized the conference "Donna Arte e Società" in Milan, producing the manifesto "Vogliamo Vo(g)liamo." Her work was featured in the 2019 exhibition "Il soggetto imprevisto" at Frigoriferi Milanesi and in 2023 at the Joseph and Anni Albers Museum in Bottrop. Secol continues to create small works, recently addressing the theme of war with a piece about depleted uranium bombs in Iraq.
Key facts
- Mariuccia Secol is 97 years old and has produced over 200 works.
- Her solo exhibition 'Unraveling' is at Muzeum Susch until November 1, 2026.
- She ran an art workshop at Bizzozero psychiatric hospital starting in 1965.
- She co-founded the Gruppo Immagine di Varese with Milli Gandini and Mirella Tognola.
- She participated in the 1978 Venice Biennale.
- In 1974, she co-organized the conference 'Donna Arte e Società' in Milan.
- Her work was shown at the Joseph and Anni Albers Museum in Bottrop in 2023.
- She continues to make art, focusing on small pieces and political themes.
Entities
Artists
- Mariuccia Secol
- Milli Gandini
- Mirella Tognola
- Galliano Mazzon
- Giulia Sala
- Angelo Tognola
- Alberto Tognola
- Enrico Baj
- Giuliano Vangi
- Francesco Fedeli
- Leonardo Sciascia
- Clemen Parrocchetti
- Silvia Cibaldi
- Maria Grazia Sironi
- Rosa Panaro
- Valeria Dioguardi
- Anna Trapani
- Bruna Sarno
- Corrado Levi
- Vera Maglioni
- Francesca Grossi
- Manuela Gandini
- Sergio Racanati
- Monika Branicka
- Eva Brioschi
- Marco Scotini
- Raffaella Perna
- Carlo Ripa di Meana
- Luciano Gallina
- Jean Dubuffet
- Mariagrazia Sironi
- Mirella Bentivoglio
- Man Ray
- Marcel Duchamp
- Silvio Berlusconi
- Vittoria Caprotti
- Federico Sette
- Mirela Tognola
- Eddy Varekamp
- Max Beckmann
- Sonia Delaunay
- Henrik Ibsen
- Grażyna Kulczyk
- Franco Basaglia
- Mariella Tognola
- Bruno Munari
- Mario Tognola
- John Foot
- Carla Cerati
- Magdalena Typiak
- Mareike Tocha
- Marina Abramovic
- Monica Sosnowska
- Joanna Rajkowska
- Zofia Kluik
- Ilona Keserü
- Anu Poder
- Laura Grisi
- Milly Gandini
- Chasper Schmidlin
- Lukas Voellmy
- Andrea Musto
- Aki Sasamoto
- Claude Monet
Institutions
- Muzeum Susch
- Art Stations Foundation
- Joseph and Anni Albers Museum
- Frigoriferi Milanesi
- Biennale di Venezia
- Ospedale Psichiatrico di Bizzozero
- Gruppo Immagine di Varese
- Galleria Cavedra
- Casa delle Donne di Milano
- Accademia Musicale Camille Saint-Saens
- DeriveApprodi
- La Prealpina
- Artribune
- Biennale
- ospedale psichiatrico di Bizzozero
- Gruppo Femminista Immagine di Varese
- ospedale psichiatrico di Bizzozero-Varese
- Gruppo Femminista "Immagine"
- Venice Biennale
- Swann
- Nagel
- Quittenbaum
- Monopol
- Monopol Plus
- monopol-magazin.de
- Galerie Gisela Clement
- Bizzozero psychiatric hospital
- Gruppo Immagine Varese
- ATP DIARY
- Ospedale Psichiatrico di Bizzozero-Varese
- Gruppo del Salario del Lavoro Domestico
- Pirelli HangarBicocca
- Tate Modern
- Anthropic
- Connexxion
Locations
- Castellanza
- Italy
- Daverio
- Varese
- Milan
- Venice
- Bottrop
- Germany
- Susch
- Switzerland
- Rome
- Padua
- Naples
- Paris
- Portugal
- Sardinia
- Czechoslovakia
- Crosio della Valle
- Iraq
- Bizzozero
- Genoa
- Gaza
- Kyoto
- Stuttgart
- Munich
- New York
- Schweiz
- Italien
- Prague
- Bonn
- Bassa Engadina
- Inn
- Savona
- Engadin
Sources
- Inside Art —
- Weltkunst —
- Artuu Magazine —
- Artribune —
- Monopol Magazin —
- Artribune —
- ATP Diary —
- Artuu Magazine —