Lara-Vinca Masini, Italian art critic and curator, dies at 97
On January 9, Lara-Vinca Masini, an influential Italian art historian, critic, and curator, passed away at the age of 97. Beginning in the early 1960s, she merged historical inquiry with cultural activism, initially at seleArte under Carlo Ludovico Ragghianti. In Florence, she curated groundbreaking exhibitions, notably the 1980 show 'Umanesimo, Disumanesimo nell'arte europea 1890/1980,' which stood in stark contrast to Medici-centric displays. This exhibition featured works from artists such as Sandro Chia and Hans Hollein. Masini also played a role in the 1978 Venice Biennale and organized 'Dedalo e Icaro' in 1995. Her editorial contributions include 'Linea dell'unicità' (1989) and 'Linea del modello' (1996). In 2020, she published a selection of her writings and donated her archive to CID/Arti Visive.
Key facts
- Lara-Vinca Masini died on January 9 at age 97.
- She was an art historian, critic, and curator.
- She began her career at seleArte magazine under Carlo Ludovico Ragghianti.
- She founded Centro Proposte in Florence for avant-garde exhibitions.
- Her 1980 exhibition 'Umanesimo, Disumanesimo nell'arte europea 1890/1980' was a major urban-scale event in Florence.
- The exhibition featured site-specific works by artists like Sandro Chia, Rebecca Horn, and Hermann Nitsch.
- She contributed to the 1978 Venice Biennale with themes of topology and morphogenesis.
- She authored two volumes: 'Linea dell'unicità' (1989) and 'Linea del modello' (1996).
- Her archive was donated to the Centro per l'arte contemporanea Luigi Pecci.
- A selection of her writings was published in 2020 by Gli Ori.
Entities
Artists
- Lara-Vinca Masini
- Carlo Ludovico Ragghianti
- Piero Frassinelli
- Sandro Chia
- Renato Ranaldi
- Giuseppe Chiari
- Luciano Fabro
- Hans Hollein
- Rebecca Horn
- Fabio Mauri
- Hermann Nitsch
- Wolf Vostell
- Angelika Stepken
- Alessandra Acocella
- Vittorio Fagone
- Tomaso Montanari
Institutions
- seleArte
- Centro Proposte
- CID/Arti Visive
- Centro per l'arte contemporanea Luigi Pecci
- La Biennale di Venezia
- Gli Ori
- Artribune
- Museo Progressivo d'Arte Contemporanea di Livorno
- Biennale di Venezia
- Centro Pecci per l'arte contemporanea di Prato
- Cultura Commestibile
Locations
- Florence
- Italy
- Gubbio
- Venice
- Barberino Val d'Elsa
- Livorno
- Prato