Roberto Ago critiques Italian art system ahead of Prato Forum

Roberto Ago, an iconologist and visual critic, published a provocative opinion piece on Artribune ahead of the Forum dell'Arte Contemporanea Italiana at the Centro per l'Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci in Prato. Using evolutionary biology metaphors from Richard Dawkins and game theory, Ago argues that the Italian art system suffers from a dysfunctional 'Evolutionary Stable Strategy' (ESS). He claims that Italian artists are mediocre, curators are myopic, and the system punishes individual initiative while rewarding conformity. Ago criticizes the lack of critical judgment among Italian curators, the overproduction of 'international style' clones, and the failure to export Italian art. He references artists Gianfranco Baruchello, Jordan Wolfson, Maurizio Cattelan, and Pietro Roccasalva as examples of adapted or maladapted phenotypes. Ago suggests that the Forum, despite good intentions, risks remaining superficial unless participants acknowledge systemic failures. The piece includes references to Dawkins, John Maynard Smith, and Robert Axelrod.