Roberto Ago Names His Top 5 Italian Artists of the Last 20 Years

In a critical essay published on Artribune, Roberto Ago selects Lara Favaretto, Flavio Favelli, Francesco Gennari, Alessandro Pessoli, and Pietro Roccasalva as the five most representative Italian artists of the past two decades. Ago argues that these artists succeed by deliberately copying the styles of Arte Povera and Transavanguardia, defying the academic taboo against referencing Italy's own tradition. He describes them as 'transavanguardisti poveri' who blend local heritage with international influences. The essay critiques Italian curators for neglecting these artists in favor of generic internationalism, and cites the 2018 exhibition 'Ennesima' as a missed opportunity for failing to include Favelli. Ago also dismisses other notable artists like Roberto Cuoghi, Diego Perrone, and Massimo Bartolini as either naïve, inconsistent, or lacking a distinctive identity. The piece is part of a series titled 'Stori(ell)a dell’Arte Italiana d’inizio millennio' and reflects on the broader tension between national identity and globalized aesthetics in contemporary Italian art.