Feminist artist Rosa Panaro dies at 87 in Naples

Rosa Panaro, a feminist artist, teacher, and activist, died on March 5, 2022, in Naples at age 87. Born in 1935 in Casal di Principe, Caserta, she studied sculpture at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Napoli, graduating in 1958. In 1959 she participated in the Quadriennale di Roma. In the 1970s she co-founded Gruppo XX with Antonietta Casiello and Mimma Sardella, a collective denouncing social discrimination against women. The group's first exhibition, held in 1977 at Galleria Lucio Amelio, stemmed from a trip to the Venice Biennale where the artists experienced discrimination. Panaro's work used natural and industrial materials like terracotta, papier-mâché, cement, and resins, influenced by Pop art and Claes Oldenburg. The city of Naples awarded her a medal of merit. The Museo Madre's president Angela Tecce and artistic director Kathryn Weir expressed condolences, noting her participation in the group exhibition 'Utopia Distopia: il mito del progresso partendo dal Sud' at the Madre.