Four new artist biographies explore Ai Weiwei, Marinella Senatore, Guttuso, and Portaluppi

Artribune Magazine #72 presents four new books offering in-depth looks at artists Ai Weiwei, Marinella Senatore, Renato Guttuso, and architect Piero Portaluppi. Ai Weiwei's memoir "Mille anni di gioie e dolori" (Feltrinelli, 2023) recounts his twelve years in the US during the 1980s and 1990s, his work as an extra in Zeffirelli's Turandot at the Met, and his father Ai Qing's persecution under the regime. Ilaria Bernardi's monograph "Marinella Senatore" (Silvana Editoriale, 2022) covers the artist's first twenty years of creative work, including the tenth anniversary of her nomadic school SOND and a carte blanche at Palais de Tokyo. John Berger's long-lost manuscript on Renato Guttuso, found in a cellar and now translated into Italian as "Guttuso" (Sellerio, 2023), was his first book, written in the 1950s when he abandoned painting for writing. Piero Maranghi's "Piero Portaluppi" (Skira, 2023) features unpublished photos by Ciro Frank Schiappa and explores the architect's exuberant eclecticism, his collection, and his hobbies as a cartoonist and puzzle maker.