Lucia Marcucci. Tutto qui?

The trilingual monograph dedicated to Lucia Marcucci (Florence, 1933) offers the first comprehensive critical reading of the work of one of the foremost living figures of Visual Poetry, combining both historical contextualization and a contemporary perspective.

The publication marks the culmination of a research trajectory initiated by Museion in 2018, beginning with several group exhibitions and continuing with a solo focus on Lucia Marcucci in 2023 (Lucia Marcucci. Poesie e no). This path also led to the acquisition of three major works through the PAC 2022/2023 public fund, which completed the existing core of the museum’s collection. The book thus disseminates the research generated through these key stages, while also connecting it with the experience developed by Ar/Ge Kunst through the exhibition L’Offesa, presented in parallel with the one at Museion.

The two exhibitions originated from a shared nucleus of works from the 1960s and 1970s and expanded to explore different aspects and periods of Marcucci’s artistic research. These distinct curatorial approaches made it possible to present, for the first time, works and archival materials that had never been shown before, thanks to close collaboration with the artist’s family. Alongside the artworks, numerous texts by Marcucci were also displayed, revealing a fundamental yet lesser-known dimension of her practice.

The monograph is structured around this material through four thematic sections, each addressed by eight different authors, who offer both historical and contemporary perspectives on Marcucci’s work. Each section is introduced by a text by Marcucci herself, selected by the curators from the exhibited materials and from previously unpublished writings.

A conversation between the curators and art historian Raffaella Perna concludes the series of essays, highlighting the contemporary legacy of Marcucci’s artistic journey and the key themes that emerged throughout this long process of research. A rich iconographic apparatus—including many works published here for the first time, as well as others exhibited in the two Bolzano shows—complements and dialogues with the textual content.

The publication aims to promote Lucia Marcucci’s work on an international scale, to connect Italian verbo-visual practices with a broader global context, and to contribute a significant chapter to ongoing academic and curatorial studies on figures like Marcucci. Bringing her work to light today—through the translation of her texts and the involvement of young researchers—also situates this project within a wider institutional trajectory, in which the museum becomes a platform fostering intergenerational critical dialogue and the emergence of new narratives and historical perspectives.