Renato Barilli Curates 33 Artists for Premio Michetti, Declares Return of Painting

Renato Barilli, legendary Italian art critic, curated the 2018 Premio Michetti exhibition at MUMI in Francavilla al Mare, Italy, titled "Che arte fa oggi in Italia" (What Art Does Today in Italy). The show features 33 artists, mostly around forty years old, exploring postmodern contemporary art. Barilli argues for a return to painting and sensorial art, moving away from the "hard and pure" conceptualism of the 1960s. The exhibition celebrates the 50th anniversary of 1968 but debunks its proclamation of the death of traditional media. Barilli cites Francesco Paolo Michetti, who in 1898 declared painting dead in favor of photography, yet the show includes painter Domenico Colantoni, an hyper-realist. The first floor of MUMI is dedicated to installations, while the lower floor focuses on painting. Barilli excludes photography, deeming it overused, but notes video art's vitality. He defines postmodernism as starting in the late 18th century with electromagnetism in art by Füssli, Blake, and Turner, applying Hegelian dialectic: thesis (1968 conceptualism), antithesis (1970s citationism with Paolini and de Chirico), and synthesis (Armleder and Koons). Barilli selected artists from previous surveys like Officina Italia 2 (2011) and Biennale Giovani 3 (2016), adding a tribute to the late Domenico Colantoni, an Abruzzo native. He criticizes contemporary curators for avoiding risks and not supporting young artists, emphasizing the need for militant criticism.