Roberto Ago responds to Gian Maria Tosatti's critique of Italian art scene

In a September 21 editorial on Il Sole 24 Ore, artist and curator Gian Maria Tosatti accused the Italian art scene of the 2000s-2020s of being fragmented and lacking critical historiography, unable to form a 'critical mass' or 'movement.' Roberto Ago, writing on Artribune, rebuts Tosatti, arguing that such fragmentation is typical of contemporary art globally. Ago claims he already attempted a categorization with his 'Transavanguardia Povera Reloaded' manifesto, which initially included Tosatti but was later forgotten. Ago asserts that Italian contemporary art of the last two decades is largely irrelevant internationally, except for his manifesto, and that artists like Pietro Roccasalva have declined into academic painting. He names other artists such as Cuoghi, Gabellone, and Arena, and notes that post-1990s figures like Cattelan, Beecroft, Stingel, Vezzoli, and Pivi have not been surpassed. Ago criticizes the Italian art system—academies, poetics, connoisseurship—for structural deficiencies, though he acknowledges that local success still holds existential value. He concludes that Italian art's decline since Arte Povera and Transavanguardia is progressive, and that international curators and gallerists succeed by promoting non-Italian art.