ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Six New Art Books: From Bouabré to Tom of Finland

publication · 2026-04-27

A roundup of six recent art publications includes a monograph on Luigi Pericle edited by Andrea Biasca-Caroni (Nino Aragno, €25), featuring essays in Italian and English; a catalog for Fabiola Naldi's exhibition 'Libero Spazio Libero' at Fondazione Del Monte di Bologna (Sete, €20), with writings by Martha Rosler, Giulia Niccolai, Claudia Losi, Lucy Orta, and Claire Fontaine; Giorgio Bacci's 'Confini. Viaggiare nell'arte contemporanea' (Postmedia Books, €21), exploring borders and identity; César Aira's 2010 lecture 'Sull’arte contemporanea' (Johan & Levi, €10), focusing on Marcel Duchamp; the MoMA exhibition catalog 'Frédéric Bruly Bouabré. Un monde sans limites' (5 Continents, €29), tied to a donation of 45 works from the Jean Pigozzi Collection of African Art; and 'Tom of Finland. An Imaginary Sketchbook' (Skira, €32), showcasing the artist's erotic drawings.

Key facts

  • Luigi Pericle (born Pericle Luigi Giovannetti, 1916–2001) was a Swiss-Italian illustrator and painter who later became a hermit.
  • His archive was rediscovered in 2016 when his last home was purchased after being sealed for 15 years.
  • Pericle had solo shows at Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa (Venice, 2019) and MASI Lugano (2021), and a forthcoming one at Estorick Collection London from September 2022.
  • Fabiola Naldi's exhibition 'Libero Spazio Libero' was held at Fondazione Del Monte di Bologna during Arte Fiera week.
  • The catalog includes five previously unavailable texts by Giulia Niccolai and translations of Martha Rosler's works.
  • Giorgio Bacci teaches contemporary art history at the University of Florence.
  • César Aira is an Argentine writer born in 1949, known for producing at least two books per year.
  • The MoMA exhibition 'Frédéric Bruly Bouabré. Un monde sans limites' runs until mid-August 2022.
  • Tom of Finland is a 20th-century gay icon known for explicit drawings of muscular men.

Entities

Artists

  • Luigi Pericle
  • Pericle Luigi Giovannetti
  • Fabiola Naldi
  • Martha Rosler
  • Giulia Niccolai
  • Claudia Losi
  • Lucy Orta
  • Claire Fontaine
  • Giorgio Bacci
  • César Aira
  • Marcel Duchamp
  • Frédéric Bruly Bouabré
  • Tom of Finland
  • André Magnin
  • Roberto Bolaño
  • Italo Zuffi
  • Chiara Guidi
  • Carla Lonzi
  • Walter Benjamin
  • Lorenza Pignatti

Institutions

  • Archivio Luigi Pericle
  • Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa
  • MASI Lugano
  • Estorick Collection
  • Società Teosofica Svizzera
  • Nino Aragno
  • Fondazione Del Monte di Bologna
  • Arte Fiera
  • Sete
  • Postmedia Books
  • University of Florence
  • Johan & Levi
  • MoMA
  • Jean Pigozzi Collection of African Art
  • 5 Continents
  • Skira
  • Artribune

Locations

  • Basilea
  • Switzerland
  • Ascona
  • Venice
  • Italy
  • Lugano
  • London
  • United Kingdom
  • Torino
  • Bologna
  • Faenza
  • Milano
  • Firenze
  • Monza
  • New York
  • United States

Sources