Lara-Vinca Masini Archive Presented at TESTO Fair in Florence

The 2026 edition of TESTO, the contemporary publishing fair organized by Pitti Immagine and Todo Modo, takes place at Florence's Stazione Leopolda from February 27 to March 1. The fair's theme is 'estro' (inspiration/whim), emphasizing cross-disciplinary exploration. A highlight is a curated selection of volumes from the archive-biblioteca of Lara-Vinca Masini (1923–2021), a Florentine art critic and historian known for her independent, anti-academic approach. Her archive, housed at the Centro per l'arte contemporanea Luigi Pecci in Prato with support from Fondazione CR Firenze, is one of Italy's most extensive interdisciplinary collections on contemporary culture. The selection is organized into five thematic sections: 'Artisti si raccontano (1917-2014)' features autobiographies by Ottone Rosai, Man Ray, Bruno Munari, and Michelangelo Pistoletto; 'Artisti nello spazio (1966-1975)' explores the intersection of contemporary art, science fiction, and space conquest; 'Arte e materie plastiche (1961-1975)' examines industrial materials and critiques of production models, including works by Julio Le Parc and Christo; 'Arte e/o poesia (1962-1995)' focuses on Visual Poetry and the Italian neo-avant-garde; and 'Libri di Lara-Vinca Masini (1963-2019)' presents her own writings, from monographs on Van Gogh and Fattori to an interdisciplinary dictionary of contemporary art and an unpublished guide to Florence.