Maurizio Nannucci (born 1939, in Florence, Italy) is an Italian contemporary artist. Lives and works in Florence and South Baden, Germany. Nannucci's work includes: photography, video, neon installations, sound installation, artist's books, and editions. Since the mid-sixties he is a protagonist of international artistic experimentation in Concrete Poetry and Conceptual Art.Isabelle Schwarz, Archive fur Kunstlerpublikationen der 1960er bis 1980er Jahre, Salon Verlag, 2008
Biography Maurizio Nannucci was born in Florence on April 20, 1939. After studying at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence and Berlin, he attended electronic music courses and worked for several years with experimental theater groups, drawing sceneries. In 1968 he founded the Exempla publishing house and the Zona Archives Edizioni in Florence, still playing an intense editorial activity by publishing artist's books and records, multiple copies and other artists' records.
From 1974 to 1985 he was part of the non-profit space Zona in Florence, organizing over two hundred exhibitions and events. In 1981 he created Zona Radio, a radio station dedicated to artists' sound work and experimental music, and in 1998 founded together with Paolo Parisi, Massimo Nannucci, Carlo Guaita, Paolo Masi and Antonio Catelani, Base / Progetti per l'arte, a nonprofit space of artists for other artists. Since the mid-1960s, he explored the relationship between art, language and image, between light-colour and space, creating unprecedented conceptual ideas, characterized by the use of different media: neon, photography, video, sound, editions and artist's books.
From 1967 are the first neon works that bring to his work a more diverse dimension of meaning and a new perception of space. Since then, Nannucci's research has always been focused in an interdisciplinary dialogue between work, architecture and urban landscape, as demonstrated by collaborations with Renzo Piano, Massimiliano Fuksas, Mario Botta, Nicolas Grimshaw and Stephan Braunfels. He has participated several times at the Venice Biennale, Documenta in Kassel and the Biennales of São Paulo, Sydney, Istanbul, Valencia, and has exhibited in the most important museums and galleries all over the world.
Among his neon installations in public places and institutions it is worth mentioning: Carpenter Center, Harvard University, Cambridge; Auditorium Parco della Musica, Roma; Bibliothek des Deutschen Bundestages e Altes Museum, Berlino; Kunsthalle, Vienna; Lenbachhaus München; Villa Arson, Nizza; Fondazione Peggy Guggenheim, Venezia; Mamco, Ginevra; Galleria d’arte moderna, Torino; Hubbrücke, Magdeburgo; Galleria degli Uffizi, Firenze; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Maxxi, Roma. Several the recent installations of Nannucci in public spaces in Milano: from the large “And what about the truth” at the Triennale (2006) to “No more excuses”, realizes for the Expo 2015 on the façade of the Refettorio Ambrosiano in Piazzale Greco. Recent exhibitions include: “Anni Settanta”, at the Triennale in Milano (2007); “Fuori! Arte e Spazio Urbano 1968/1976”, at the Museo del Novecento (2011); “Ennesima”, at the Triennale (2016); “L’Inarchiviabile” at the FM Centro per l’Arte Contemporanea (2016).
Editorial activities He founded the publishing houses Exempla (1968), Recorthings (1975), and Zona Archives Edizioni (1976), editing and publishing books, records and multiples on such contemporary artists as Sol LeWitt, John Armleder, James Lee Byars, Robert Filliou, Lawrence Weiner, Ian Hamilton Finlay, Carsten Nicolai, Olivier Mosset, Rirkrit Tiravanija.Richard Long. Franco Vaccari. From 1976 to 1981 he published Mèla Art Magazine. Marie Boivent,Revue d'artistes, Association ARCADE, 2008
Exhibitions 1967 Centre Arte Viva, Trieste 1968 Galerij Margaretha de Boevé, Assenede 1973 Galleria Christian Stein, Torino 1973 Salone Annunciata Milano 1974 Neue Galerie am Landesmuseum Joanneum, Graz 1974 Galerie Denise René & Hans Meyer, Düsseldorf 1974 Galeria Schema, Firenze 1975 Galleria Massimo Minini, Brescia 1975 Ecart, Geneve Galerie 1976 Galerie Müller-Roth, Stuttgart 1977 Galleria Forma, Genova 1977 Documenta, Kassel 1978 Biennale di Venezia, Venezia 1978 Galerie im Taxispalais, Innsbruck 1979 Galerie Walter Storms, München 1979 Internationaal Cultureel Centrum, Antwerpen 1979 Galerie Sudurgata, Reykjavik 1982 De Vleeshal, Middelburg 1983 Sala d’Arme, Palazzo Vecchio, Firenze 1984 Kunstverein Frankfurt, Frankfurt 1987 Italian Cultural Institute & Art Metropole, Toronto (Snow, Wiener, Nannucci) 1988 Westfälischer Kunstverein, Münster 1989 Gallery Victoria Miro, London 1989 Gallery Graeme Murray, Edinburgh 1989 Elac, Lyon (Mattiacci, Mochetti, Nannucci) 1990 Gallery Insam Gleicher, Chicago 1991 Gallery Victoria Miro, Firenze 1991 Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, München 1992 Villa delle Rose, Galleria d‘Arte Moderna, Bologna 1992 Villa Arson, Nice 1993 Kasseler Kunstverein, Fridericianum, Kassel 1994 Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris 1994 Aarhus Kunstmuseum, (Turrell, Nannucci, Nauman), Aarhus 1995 Wiener Secession, Wien 1997 Galerie Fahnemann, Berlin 1997 Galerie Walter Storms, München 1998 Museum Rupertinum, Salzburg 1999 Cabinet des Estampes, Geneve 2000 Biennale di Venezia Architettura, Venezia 2002 Sprengel Museum, Hannover 2003 Mamco, Musée d’art contemporaine, Genève. 2003 Biennale di Valencia, La Ciudad Ideal, Valencia 2003 Palazzo Farnese, (Morellet, Nannucci), Ambassade de France, Roma 2004 Pièce Unique, Paris 2005 Galleria Fumagalli, Bergamo 2005 Bury Art Gallery Museum, Bury / Manchester 2006 Palazzo della Triennale, Milano 2007 Galerie Nikolaus Ruzicska, Salzburg 2008 Museum der Moderne Mönchsberg, Salzburg 2009 Villa Medicea La Magia, Quarrata (Pistoia) 2010 Galleria degli Uffizi, Firenze 2012 Musée d’Art Moderne, Saint Etienne 2012 Dum Umeni / The house of art, Budweis 2013 No more excuses, Stazione Leopolda, Firenze 2013 Galerie Nikolaus Ruzicska, Salzburg 2013 Giacomo Guidi Arte Contemporanea, Roma 2013 Galerie mfc-michèle didier, Paris 2015 Maxxi, Museo Nazionale delle Arti del XXI secolo, Roma 2015 Museion, Bolzano
Museums and public installations Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Cnap, Centre National des Arts Plastiques, Paris & Metz Kunsthalle Weinhaupt, Ulm Carpenter Center, Harvard University, Cambridge Bibliothek des Deutschen Bundestages, Berlin Bundesministerium Auswärtiges Amt, Berlin Altes Museum, Museumsinsel, Berlin Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, München Europäisches Patentamt, München Sprengel Museum, Hannover Musée d’Art Contemporain, Lyon Mamco, Musée d’Art Moderne et Contemporaine, Genève Villa Arson, Nice Frac Nord-Pas de Calais, Dunquerke Frac Corse, Bastia Universität / Università, Bozen / Bolzano Centro d’Art Contemporanea Pecci, Prato Bank-Building, Edinburgh Parco della Musica, Auditorium di Roma Aeroporto Fiumicino, Terminal A, Roma Galleria d’Arte Moderna, Torino Schauwerk, Sindelfingen Museion, Bolzano Neue Galerie am Joanneum, Graz Villa Medicea, La Magia, Quarrata Mambo, Museo d’Arte Moderna, Bologna Centro de Arte de Salamanca Petersbrunnhof, Salzburg Muhkka, Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst, Antwerpen Bank für Internationalen Zahlungsausgleich, Basel Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venezia Van der Heydt Museum, Wuppertal Kunstraum Alexander Bürkle, Freiburg Muzej Suvremene Umjetnostii, Zagreb Museum am Ostwall, Dortmund Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam Museum of Modern Art, New York National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa The Sol LeWitt Collection, Chester Enssib, Villeurbanne, Lyon Museum der Moderne Mönchsberg, Salzburg Museum Sztuki, Lòdz Fondazione Teseco, Pisa Swiss Office Building, Airport Basel / Mulhouse / Freiburg Münchener Rück, München & Milano Borusan Contemporary, Istanbul Zumtobel, Dornbirn Bury Art Gallery Museum, Bury Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Otto Maier Verlag, Ravensburg Museo del Novecento, Arengario, Milano Viessmann, Information Center, Berlin Dresdner Bank, Frankfurt Deutsche Flugsicherung, Hannover Spreespeicher, Berlin Hubbrücke, Kloster Unserer Lieben Frauen, Magdeburg Università Bocconi, Milano Mart, Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, Rovereto Palazzo della Pilotta, Parma City Life, Palazzo delle Scintille, Milano hypermaremma, Rocca Aldobrandesca, Talamone
Multiples whichever word, a neon text in 3 colors: blue, red and yellow. Limited to 7 numbered and signed sets containing the 3 colors. Each neon text measures 8 x 75 x 2,5 cm. Produced and published in 2012 by mfc-michèle didier.
References
Bibliography Emmett Williams, Anthology of concrete poetry, Something Else Press, New York, 1967. Achille Bonito Oliva, Fare e pensare, Marcatré 50/55, Roma, 1969 Gillo Dorfles, Maurizio Nannucci, cat. Galleria Vismara, Milano, 1969 Achille Bonito Oliva, Amore mio, cat. Palazzo Ricci, Montepulciano, Centro Di, Firenze, 1970 Giulio Carlo Argan, Maurizio Nannucci, cat. Galerie Keller, München, 1971 Mario Diacono, Introduction to Maurizio Nannucci / Poemi Cromatici, Exempla Editions, Firenze, 1971 Paolo Fossati, L'azione concreta, cat. Villa Olmo, Como, 1971 Jorge Glusberg, Arte de sistemas, cat. Museo de Arte Moderna, Buenos Aires, 1972 Enrico Crispolti, Volterra 73, cat. Centro Di, Firenze, 1973 Mario Diacono, Luigi Ballerini, Italian Visual Poetry, cat. Finch Museum College, New York, 1973 Gerhard Johann Lischka, Maurizio Nannucci / Sempre cercando piccole differenze, Der Löwe 8, Bern, 1976 Renato Barilli, Parlare e scrivere, La nuova foglio, Macerata, 1977 Germano Celant, Offmedia, Dedalo libri, Bari, 1977 Germano Celant, The Record as Artwork, cat. The Fort Worth Art Museum, Fort Worth, 1978 Henry Chopin, Poésie sonore internationale, Jean Michel Place, Paris, 1979 Pier Luigi Tazzi, Maurizio Nannucci / To cut a long story short, cat. De Vleeshal, Middelburg, 1982 Bill Furlong, Live to air: artists sound works, cat Tate Gallery, London, 1982 Peter Weiermair, Maurizio Nannucci. Always endeavour to find some interesting variations, cat. Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt, 1984 Peggy Gale, Snow, Weiner, Nannucci, cat. Art Metropole, Toronto, 1987 Thierry Raspail, Mattiacci, Mochetti, Nannucci, cat. Elac, Lyon, 1989 Christian Bernard, Maurizio Nannucci / L'absence de monde est le monde, cat. Maurizio Nannucci, Villa Arson, Nice, 1992 Gabriele Detterer, Starlight: Nauman, Turrell, Nannucci, cat. Kunstmuseum, Aarhus, 1994 Anne Moeglin-Delcroix, Des livres, des enveloppes et des boîtes in: Maurizio Nannucci, cat. Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, 1994 Gabriele Detterer and Maurizio Nannucci, Bookmakers, interview, cat. Biennale of Artists' Books, Limoges, 1995 Pierre Restany, Maurizio Nannucci. Solomon's Seal, Domus, May, Milano, 1995 Georges Didi-Huberman, Didier Semin, L'empreinte, Editions du Centre Pompidou, Paris, 1997 Helmut Friedel & Gabriele Detterer, Light picture / Word picture, Maurizio Nannucci / Where to start from, cat. Europäisches Patentamt, München, Zona Archives Editions, Firenze, 1999 Markus Brüderlin, Colour to Light, cat. Fondation Beyeler, Basel, Hatje Cantz Verlag, Stuttgart, 2000 Achille Bonito Oliva, Sergio Risaliti, Orizzonti. Belvedere dell'Arte, cat. Forte Belvedere, Firenze, Skira Editore, Milano, 2003 Marco Meneguzzo, Maurizio Nannucci, Artforum, Summer, New York, 2005 Daniel Soutif, L’art du xxeme siecle, 1939/2002, Editions Citadelle & Manzenod, Paris, 2005 Elio Grazioli, Il collezionismo come voluttà e simulazione, intervista a Maurizio Nannucci, Studio Permanente & A+mbookstore edizioni, Milano, 2006 Achille Bonito Oliva, Enciclopedia della parola / Dialoghi d’artista, 1968/2008, Skira editore, Milano, 2008 Hans Ulrich Obrist, Senza aver paura di contraddire se stessi, interview, cat. Maurizio Nannucci, Something Happened, Gli Ori. Pistoi, 2009 Alexander Pühringer, Im Licht der wörter, Maurizio Nannucci, Untitled, Herbst, Berlin, 2011