Franco Mazzucchelli's Performative Works at Museo del Novecento

The exhibition 'Non ti abbandonerò mai – Franco Mazzucchelli, Azioni 1964-1979' is on view at the Sala Archivi Ettore e Claudia Gian Ferrari of the Museo del Novecento in Milan. It focuses on the performative and ephemeral aspects of Mazzucchelli's practice, excluding his early plaster and resin sculptures. The show opens with two large PVC inflatables from 1960 and 1970, emblematic of his 'Abbandoni' series. These precede the 'Sostituzioni' (1973, at Triennale di Milano) and 'Riappropriazioni' (outdoor interventions). The exhibition is primarily wall-based, featuring photographic documentation of fifteen foundational years. The first black-and-white series traces inflatables A.TO A. (art to abandon, or 'à toi') in the Camargue during the artist's 1964 honeymoon. Other works include collages and photographs of interventions: at Asilo Montessori in 1967, an abandonment on Lake Como in 1970, actions in Piazza San Fedele and Piazza Meda in Milan, and a 1971 road blockade in front of Alfa Romeo in Viale Traiano. Horizontal and vertical display cases present conceptual works like 'Caduta di pressione' (1972), which maps oxygen consumption of visitors during a solo show at Luciano Inga-pin's gallery, including self-portraits with objects that impede oxygen intake. Franco Mazzucchelli (born 1939 in Milan) earned his sculpture diploma in 1966 under Marino Marini, experimenting early with plastic materials added to washable tempera.