Francesco Poli on Irony in Visual Arts: A New Book

Francesco Poli, art historian and critic, has published 'L’ironia è una cosa seria. Strategie dell’arte d’avanguardia e contemporanea' (Johan & Levi, 2024). In an interview, Poli discusses his focus on irony in visual arts, a topic rarely explored in depth. He identifies three key elements: ambiguity (especially paradoxical), popularity (using familiar icons), and straightforwardness (in conceptual practices). He cites artists like Duchamp, Manzoni, Warhol, Jasper Johns, and Bruce Nauman. Poli argues that authentic irony in art is not an end in itself but a means to challenge established formal and iconographic conventions, opening new semantic spaces. He references Schlegel's romantic irony and Ortega y Gasset's 'ironic destiny' of new art. The book also covers Dadaism, Pop Art, and readymades. Poli taught at Accademia di Brera and Université Paris 8, and collaborates with La Stampa.