To mark the 80th birthday of art collector Egidio Marzona, a special project from the collection featuring 80 first books by 80 artists from the 1960s and 1970s is being presented to the public for the first time. The great artistic upheaval associated with that era comes to light in these artists’ books. A thematic selection of artworks from the Marzona Collection is also on display. The Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz (Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation) is honouring the collector and patron with this exhibition at the initiative of the Neue Nationalgalerie. It has been organised in collaboration with the Kunstbibliothek and the Archiv der Avantgarden – Egidio Marzona (ADA), Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (SKD).

A Passionate Collector

Egidio Marzona began his career in the early 1960s as a collector and publisher of the conceptual art ideas of his time. His guiding principle was to establish an encyclopaedic collection of all artistic media at that time, including Conceptual Art, Minimal Art, Land Art and Arte Povera. His extensive art collection from the 1960s and 1970s, containing over 600 works of art and a comprehensive archive with many thousands of letters, books, posters, invitations and photographs, was acquired by the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin in 2002 and 2016.

Artists’ Books

Over many years, the collector sought out the very first books by artists now represented in the exhibition. As modest as these books may appear at first glance, they symbolise a paradigm shift in art. Books opened up an alternative space for art, becoming surrogate exhibition venues, as was the case with American conceptual artist Mel Bochner’s legendary book object, which is being shown for the first time since its original presentation in New York in 1966 – as a loan from the ADA at the SKD.

Locations of the Collection

After his art collection of works from the 1960s and 1970s came to Berlin permanently, the collector embarked on an even more ambitious project: a collection focusing on the 20th century’s many avant-gardes. This immense collection was given to the SKD in 2016 and ceremoniously opened in 2024 in a new space at its rehabilitated Blockhaus.

The Exhibition

Corresponding to the artists’ books, the exhibition presents other works from the Marzona Collection: neon lettering, picture postcards, letter drawings, and photographs reflecting the avant-garde projects and concepts in the art of the 1960s. In this diversity of ideas, the book, with its 5000-year history, proves to be an art object that is constantly being reinvented.

Matinee and Other Event Programmes

The exhibition opening on Saturday, 26 October 2024 will be followed by an afternoon event on Sunday, 27 October 2024, from 11 am to 3 pm, focused on the Marzona Collection located in Berlin. In that context, the Kupferstichkabinett (Museum of Prints and Drawings) and the Kunstbibliothek (Art Library) will present a selection of works in their study rooms and jointly talk with the collector about the works’ diverse histories. An extensive programme of guided tours and workshops accompanying the exhibition invites visitors to gain new perspectives through mutual discussions about the artists’ books.

Curatorial Team

The exhibition is curated by Monika Branicka and Michael Lailach from the Kunstbibliothek, with curatorial assistance by Ricarda Bergmann from the Neue Nationalgalerie.

Film Discussion and a Digital Tool for the Exhibition

The exhibition is accompanied by the film (in German) The Very First Edition: Egidio Marzona im Gespräch über Künstlerbücher (The Very First Edition: Egidio Marzona in Conversation About Artists’ Books), which is part of WIR SIND AVANTGARDE! (We are Avant-Garde!), an oral history project organized by the ADA of the SKD, conceived and conducted by Monika Branicka and Pirkko Rathgeberen. An xplayner will also be launched to accompany the exhibition. This digital tool developed by Heine/Lenz/Zizka Projekte makes it possible to explore the contents of some of the exhibited books.

A special exhibition of the Neue Nationalgalerie and the Kunstbibliothek – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin in collaboration with the Archiv der Avantgarden – Egidio Marzona, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden