Terry Atkinson's first Italian retrospective opens at Ca' Pesaro, Venice

Ca' Pesaro in Venice hosts the first major retrospective in Italy of British conceptual artist Terry Atkinson, titled 'L'artista è un motore di significati' (The Artist is a Meaning Engine), curated by Elisabetta Barisoni and Elena Forin. The exhibition spans over five decades of Atkinson's career, featuring iconic series such as Enola Gay, Grease Works, Goya Series, American Civil War, Russell series drawings, and a large body of 1960s drawings. Atkinson, born in 1939 in Thurnscoe, Yorkshire, co-founded the legendary Art & Language group, participated in Documenta 5 and the 1984 Venice Biennale, and was a Turner Prize finalist in 1985. His works are held in the Tate Modern collection. In an accompanying interview, Atkinson discusses his upbringing in a mining community influenced by the National Union of Mineworkers, his departure from Art & Language in 1973 after internal conflicts (the 'Coventry debacle'), his rejection of the distinction between aesthetic expression and political content, his views on Pop Art (interest in early David Hockney, disinterest in Peter Blake), and his critical perspective on US foreign policy from the Cold War to contemporary conflicts. He also reflects on his teaching practice and daily conversations with Sue Atkinson as central to his current work. The retrospective highlights how Atkinson's practice combines text, photography, and painting to dismantle official narratives and provoke moral and political reflection.