Cioni Carpi and Gianni Melotti in Lucca Exhibition

The Fondazione Ragghianti in Lucca presents a dual exhibition on Cioni Carpi and Gianni Melotti, two Italian artists from the 1970s experimental scene. Carpi (1923–2011), a Milanese polymath, anticipated ecological and conceptual trends through photography, video art, and verbo-visual works. Melotti (b. 1953), a Florentine photographer and artist, documented the radical art milieu of the 1970s while producing his own multimedia pieces. The show, curated from archival research by Paolo Emilio Antognoli, focuses on Carpi's 1960s–70s output and Melotti's first decade (1973–1983). Despite never meeting, both artists shared a critical stance toward mass society, using self-portraiture, irony, and semiologic inquiry. Carpi pioneered Italian video art and collaborated with figures like John Fante and Leonard Cohen. Melotti captured encounters at centers like Zona, involving Urs Lüthi, Joan Jonas, and Joseph Kosuth. The exhibition reorders recent Italian art history, highlighting a neglected avant-garde.