Marisa Merz

Marisa Merz (née Maria Luisa Truccato 23 May 1926 – 20 July 2019) was an Italian artist and sculptor.

[5] In June 1967, Merz had her first solo exhibition at the Gian Enzo Sperone Gallery in Turin, for which she made a folded aluminum foil installation.

[7] In December 1967, she had another show at the Piper Pluri Cub, a Turin disco that had opened the year before to host radical artistic events.

[11] As a young artist, Merz did not receive wide-spread recognition, despite her huge contribution to the scene.

An example is her 1966 installation Untitled (Living Sculpture), which was intended both for her home and to be presented in a gallery (she once said 'There has never been any division between my life and my work').

The installation consisted of thin strips of aluminium, clipped and suspended from the ceiling, forming coils and spirals.

"[13] As an artist, Merz refused to formally name or date her works and claimed that art making operated "beyond time.

[1] At the 2013 Venice Biennale she was awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement (also called the Leone d'Oro).