Five New Art Books: From Childhood Themes to Relational Art Critique

Saverio Verini's "La stagione fatata" examines how contemporary Italian artists like Diego Marcon, Thomas Braida, Luca Bertolo, Valerio Nicolai, and Maurizio Cattelan address childhood. Serena Carbone's "L'arte in preda al possibile" argues that relational art, codified in the 1990s by Nicolas Bourriaud, is becoming a market category. Luca Beatrice's "Le vite" offers a personal, anecdotal history of Italian art from the economic boom to today, featuring figures like Umberto Allemandi, Giancarlo Politi, Francesco Bonami, and Roberto D'Agostino. Patti Smith's "A Book of Days" collects daily polaroid and smartphone photos, revealing intimate moments from her life on the road. Francesca Coin's "Le grandi dimissioni" analyzes the post-pandemic phenomenon of mass resignations, framing it as an anthropological experiment. All five books were published in 2023 by Italian publishers: Castelvecchi, Gli Ori, Marsilio, Bompiani, and Einaudi respectively.