For the first time, Jeu de Paume and LE BAL are presenting a joint thematic exhibition on the use of media – photography, film, video – by Italian artists of the 1960s and early 1970s. Centered around the Arte Povera group, it will be open to various fellow travelers of the movement and beyond, to study the position of the Italian avant-garde vis-à-vis photography and the moving image.

This exhibition shows the extraordinary richness of a period when Italian artists appropriated the narrative power of photography, video and film, providing a panorama of the visual experiments of the Italian avant-garde of the period in the field of image. The works are deeply rooted in Italian culture and history, leading to the creation of some of the most fertile and original works of the period, breaking down the barriers between genres and disciplines.

The title of the exhibition, “Reversing the eye”, is a reference to the eponymous work by Giuseppe Penone, Rovesciare i propri occhi, of which different versions are present in the exhibition.

Artists represented:
Giovanni Anselmo
Giulio Paolini
Giuseppe Penone