Arte Povera

/ ˌarte poˈvera /

noun

1. a style of minimal art originating in Italy in the late 1960s, making use of cheap and commonly available materials such as stones, newspapers etc

Word History and Origins

Origin of Arte Povera¹

C20: Italian, literally: poor art

Example Sentences

Giovanni Anselmo, one of the funnier and more philosophical of the Italian artists making what the critic Germano Celant indelibly named Arte Povera, or “poor art,” died on Monday at his home in Turin, Italy.

From New York Times

He coined the term “arte povera” in connection with a show he curated in Genoa, which included the work of Jannis Kounellis, Alighiero Boetti and others.

From New York Times

It is a seminal work by the artist, a protagonist of Arte Povera, or “poor art,” the Italian avant-garde movement that emerged in the 1960s and often uses humble materials.

From New York Times

Pistoletto is a painter, object artist and art theorist who is one of the main representatives of the Italian Arte Povera movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s through which artists attacked the political, industrial and cultural establishment.

From Seattle Times

The "Venus of the Rags", a symbol of the Arte Povera movement which counts Pistoletto among its leading members, shows the Roman goddess of love, beauty and fertility standing next to a pile of rags.

From Reuters