Asia Argento’s slab at the Metropolitan Museum: Marco Manzi donates the work
The master takes up the chair in New York to present the Atlas of Contemporary Art
ROME – He brought his “tattoos” to the Venice Biennale, to the main international art galleries, to Moma, to the Gagosian Gallery and even to museums. This time the maestro Marco Manzo took the chair at the Metropolitan Museum in New York bringing with him “Asia Argento in color”. His lectio magistralis took place in the Bonnie J. Sacerdote Hall of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York as part of the presentation of the Atlas of Contemporary Art published by Giunti > and Start Group. In this context, an in-depth analysis of the artist’s career was presented, a speech by Manzo himself and the projection, among others, of one of the works entitled ‘Asia Argento in colour‘, representing the well-known Italian director and actress. On this occasion, a work by Maestro Manzo was donated to the museum. An installation made up of 66 works (precisely ‘Asia Argento in colour’).
“HE RAISED TATTOOING TO ARTISTIC EXPRESSION”
The story of Marco Manzo, Roman, internationally renowned visual artist, sculptor and designer is incredible: thanks to constant study, his commitment and his dreamer’s nature, he has also left his mark on the world of tattooand is considered a precursor of the ‘ornamental’ style, a true artistic virtuosity that lives on the body and on sculpture, dressing the woman with elegance and refinement through the elaboration of textile traditions and mandalas, of the chandeliers of the Victorian era, of the architecture of Noto, from which a new recognizability arises, immediately attributable to him.
Considered one of the great representatives of the artistic changes of this century, he confirms that art Italian contemporary art continues to be present on the international scene. One of the merits ascribed to maestro Manzo is that of having elevated the tattoo to institutional recognition as an artistic expression, bringing it into the authoritative language of contemporary art and making it enter museums, major exhibitions, in ecclesiastical institutions and, with this event, in one of the most famous and visited museums in the world. His sculptures in marble, ceramic or bronze become witnesses and guardians not only of Manzo’s style but also of this positive stage in the history of contemporary art. Author of the first Manifesto of tattooing as an art form, published in the Official Catalog of the Guatemala National Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, an exhibition in which he participated several times, he was also curator of ‘The New Languages of Contemporary Art in the 21st century’ at the Senate of the Italian Republic.
The work donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art is part of a collection entitled ‘Lastre’: it is an installation made up of 66 works, already presented at the Venice Architecture Biennale, whose concept is a similarity between the human body and architectural works through the superposition of x-rays and tattoos, as in an ideal genetic mapping in which the bones constitute the supporting structure and the negative tattoo becomes the facade.
The 66 works can compose billions of possible combinations and the duration of an entire lifetime would not be enough to achieve them: Manzo has in fact declared that his research is the eternity of artistic production, which will be able to continue beyond the life of the author himself. The Atlas of Contemporary Art published by Giunti and Start, a monumental work, has for years been a privileged tool for collectors, gallery owners and enthusiasts, allowing one to orient oneself confidently in the complex world of visual arts.