ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Conrad Marca-Relli retrospective in Rome highlights Abstract Expressionist's transatlantic career

exhibition · 2026-04-27

A significant retrospective dedicated to Conrad Marca-Relli (1913-2000) has commenced at the Mattia De Luca gallery located in Palazzo Albertoni Spinola, Rome. This event is organized in collaboration with the Marca-Relli archive at Galleria Niccoli in Parma. Showcasing 25 pieces created between 1951 and 1967, the exhibition illustrates Marca-Relli's transition from figurative to abstract art, as well as his innovative collage methods. He was a co-founder of the Eighth Street Club and played a key role in the Ninth Street Show (1951), which was the inaugural public display of Abstract Expressionism. Notable works include the collages Untitled and Untitled (Figure) (1951) and the prominent L-8-56 Death of Jackson Pollock (1956). The exhibition will continue until a date yet to be announced.

Key facts

  • Conrad Marca-Relli retrospective at Mattia De Luca gallery, Rome, in Palazzo Albertoni Spinola
  • 25 works from 1951 to 1967
  • Organized with Marca-Relli archive at Galleria Niccoli, Parma
  • Marca-Relli co-founded Eighth Street Club and organized Ninth Street Show (1951)
  • Born Corrado Marcarelli in Boston, 1913, to parents from Benevento
  • Studied at Cooper Union and worked on Federal Art Project
  • Influenced by Giorgio de Chirico, Mario Sironi, and Surrealism
  • Met Alberto Burri and Afro in Rome in 1948
  • Americanized name to Conrad Marca-Relli in 1949
  • Ninth Street Show included critics Harold Rosenberg and Clement Greenberg
  • Key works: Untitled and Untitled (Figure) (1951), Cityscape (1952), "Ora" Seated figure (1953), L-8-56 Death of Jackson Pollock (1956)
  • Metropolitan Museum acquired The Battle; Guggenheim acquired The Warrior
  • Solo show at Galleria La Tartaruga, Rome, 1957
  • Later works shift to architectural structures and minimalist aluminum sculptures

Entities

Artists

  • Conrad Marca-Relli
  • Jackson Pollock
  • Franz Kline
  • Afro Basaldella
  • Alberto Burri
  • Giuseppe Capogrossi
  • Giorgio de Chirico
  • Mario Sironi
  • Kurt Schwitters
  • Pablo Picasso
  • John Farren
  • Robert Motherwell
  • Donald Judd
  • Onorio Ruotolo
  • Harold Rosenberg
  • Clement Greenberg

Institutions

  • Mattia De Luca
  • Galleria Niccoli
  • Cooper Union
  • Federal Art Project
  • Eighth Street Club
  • Ninth Street Show
  • New Gallery
  • Galleria Il Cortile
  • Galleria La Tartaruga
  • Metropolitan Museum of Art
  • Guggenheim Museum

Locations

  • Rome
  • Italy
  • New York
  • Boston
  • United States
  • Parma
  • Benevento
  • Via Margutta
  • Greenwich Village
  • San Miguel de Allende
  • Mexico
  • Salsomaggiore
  • Palazzo Albertoni Spinola
  • Piazza Campitelli
  • Via del Babuino

Sources