Laura Grisi resurfaces with major retrospective at MAMCO Geneva

Laura Grisi (Rodi, 1939 – Rome, 2017), an Italian artist who had seven solo shows at Leo Castelli in New York and participated in two Venice Biennales between the 1970s and 1990s, had been largely forgotten in Italy until her rediscovery in 2018 with a film screening at GAM Turin and a solo show at Galleria P420 in Bologna. Now, a comprehensive retrospective at MAMCO Geneva, curated by Marco Scotini with Julien Fronsacq and strongly supported by director Lionel Bovier, presents her work in reverse chronological order, from late conceptual pieces to early Variable Paintings from the 1960s. Grisi, married to oceanographer and documentarian Folco Quilici, traveled extensively and incorporated non-Western perspectives into a critique of scientific and epistemological models. Key works include 'Gocce d'acqua' (1968), a kinetic water installation; 'Measuring of Time' (1969), a film where she counts sand grains on a beach; 'Volume d'aria' (1969), a white cube with neon tubes inducing spatial perception; and 'Un'area di nebbia' (1968), with plexiglas columns and artificial fog. The exhibition runs until January 29, 2023, at MAMCO, 10 rue des Vieux Grenadiers, Geneva.