Fondazione Merz

The Fondazione Merz is a contemporary-art institution created in memory of Mario Merz, an Arte Povera artist known for neon works and igloo forms. It occupies a converted 1930s industrial power plant in Turin's Borgo San Paolo district.

Why it matters

Mario Merz was a leading figure of Arte Povera, the movement that rejected precious materials in favour of stone, glass, neon and earth, and Turin was its crucible. The foundation bearing his name opened in 2005, conceived by his daughter Beatrice Merz. Its cultural programme has included exhibitions devoted to Mario and Marisa Merz alongside commissions and site-specific projects by other artists. The building itself is part of the argument: the former Lancia thermal power station is a 1930s industrial structure whose architecture shapes the exhibition spaces.

What to notice

The former power station's great hall, with its industrial volume and filtered natural light, gives the exhibitions an industrial setting. Mario Merz's vocabulary includes igloo forms, Fibonacci sequences in neon and assemblages of everyday objects; Marisa Merz is known for heads in hammered copper and unfired clay. The glass-roofed courtyard and upper walkways retain the building's industrial character. The foundation's cultural work has also included the Mario Merz Prize, a biennial award in art and music composition, a specialised library and the Merz Archive.

Context and history

Turin's industrial west, around the Lingotto and San Paolo districts, supplied the city's wealth from the late nineteenth century onward, and the Lancia car company's Officine stood among its landmarks. The foundation's building, a thermal power plant of the 1930s, passed to the municipality and was granted to the new institution, which opened in 2005 with Beatrice Merz leading it; she interrupted that role only to direct the Castello di Rivoli museum from 2010 to 2015 before returning in 2016. Its projects have also connected Turin with contemporary art in the Mediterranean and Central Europe.