Marisa Merz, a pioneering figure of the Arte Povera movement, is the focus of a major retrospective marking the centenary of her birth in Turin. The exhibition, titled "Marisa Merz: The Dance of the Hours," presents over 300 works across three venues — the Castello di Rivoli, the Galleria Civica d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea (GAM), and the Fondazione Merz — offering a comprehensive survey of the Italian sculptor’s career and legacy.

Merz, who passed away in 2019, lived and worked in a Turin apartment with her late husband Mario Merz, a key Arte Povera artist known for large-scale installations such as metal-framed igloos. Unlike Mario, whose public profile was more prominent, Marisa’s work was often overshadowed during her lifetime, despite significant collaboration between the two. The current exhibition aims to reposition her as a central figure, highlighting her unique contributions and independent vision.

The retrospective was initiated by Francesco Manacorda, director of the Castello di Rivoli, who joined the institution earlier in 2024. Manacorda curated an expanded display that not only showcases Merz’s original works but also features pieces by 10 contemporary female artists, each responding to different facets of Merz’s art and influence. Among these is a large installation by Portuguese artist Leonor Antunes, whose piece echoes Merz’s early experiments with cascading materials that reflected light.

British artist Tacita Dean, known for her atmospheric filmmaking, has contributed a multilayered portrayal of Merz’s Turin apartment — a space left largely untouched since her death. Dean, who first visited Merz in 2005, returned this year to create a film and photographic series documenting the intimate environment in which Merz lived and created. The apartment is filled with personal items and handmade objects, revealing the close integration of Merz’s art with her daily life. Dean’s work will be presented across the three venues as a diptych of black-and-white and color photography, accompanied by a film titled "Via Milano 13."

Merz’s art is distinguished by its engagement with domestic materials and themes, such as knitted nylon and copper shoes, which Dean describes as acts of resistance rather than mere references to traditional female craft. Her approach blurred boundaries between art and life, with installations incorporating recycled household objects, aphorisms painted on walls, and objects that transform natural and artificial light.

The retrospective runs through April 4 and offers a layered exploration of Merz’s career, affirming her enduring importance within the postwar avant-garde and contemporary art discourse. The exhibition is accessible at all three participating institutions in Turin.