New Riga Volume Examines Gruppo 70's Theoretical Approach in Postwar Florence

A new volume titled "Gruppo 70" edited by Raffaella Perna has been published by Riga, examining the Florentine art collective. The book explores how these artists positioned themselves against Florence's weighty artistic past by embracing theoretical writing over traditional visual representation. Gruppo 70 members famously photographed themselves "in the shadow of gas pumps," a phrase coined by Sandra Pinto in an article for Verri that connected Marcel Proust with Pop Art. In 1950s Florence, where even abstraction was considered "classical" according to a manifesto by Berti, Gualtieri, and Nativi, creating contemporary art free from invasive tradition proved challenging. The group's avant-garde strategy involved looking forward by theorizing art through text rather than focusing on figurative production. This intellectual approach allowed them to bypass both their present moment and the overwhelming historical legacy of their city. The publication analyzes their calculated method of establishing artistic identity through written discourse.