Marisa Merz's Biography
Marisa Merz (1931 – 2019) was an Italian artist and founder of the Arte Povera movement, which sought to challenge traditional artistic conventions. Born in Turin, Merz began her career in the 1950s, working in painting and sculpture. She was influenced by the work of artists such as Lucio Fontana, Yves Klein and Piero Manzoni. In the 1960s, she began to explore the use of everyday materials and found objects in her work, and was one of the first to use photography and film in her art. Her work often drew on her personal experiences and focused on themes of identity, gender, and family. Her work has been exhibited in museums and galleries around the world, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Guggenheim Museum in Venice, and the Centre Pompidou in Paris.