Italian art critics debate the state of art writing: too theoretical, too fast, too shallow

An Artribune discussion on Italian art criticism emphasizes the need for writing that is straightforward and accessible for both artists and their audiences. Giorgio Di Domenico proposes the establishment of a distinct role for professional 'art writers' in Italy, separate from curators and academics, to create lucid texts. He criticizes the prevalence of poorly written press releases and essays, which are often riddled with mistakes and overly focused on narrow theories. Vincenzo Trione notes that dense theoretical language has rendered criticism self-referential, referencing a decade dominated by 'citationist theory' with mentions of figures like Mark Fisher and Timothy Morton. Di Rosa advocates for 'slow and partisan' criticism, while Zompa highlights the issue of shallow analyses. Di Domenico concludes that the ideal art writer should act as a bridge for the public.