A Sentimental Geography: The Finalists of the Mario Merz Prize on Show in Turin
Five artists, five visions, a journey through bodies, politics, and contemporary art in the post-industrial space of Officine Lancia.
The Merz Foundation in Turin presents the group exhibition of the finalists of the fifth edition of the Mario Merz Prize in the art category, curated by Giulia Turconi. The exhibition showcases the works of the five finalists: Elena Bellantoni, Mohamed Bourouissa, Anna Franceschini, Voluspa Jarpa, and Agnes Questionmark.
The former Lancia thermal power plant on Via Limone in Turin, a space historically known as a crossroads of ideas, people, and languages, hosts an exhibition route featuring works that differ in language and research, yet converge in a collective reflection. Among the central themes is the body in relation to social and political issues, making it an object of universal attention.
Through installations and video art, the exhibition offers an immersive experience that invites visitors to step out of their comfort zones and question themselves through the visions and research of the participating artists.
Curator Giulia Turconi shares her perspective:
“The Mario Merz Prize exhibition is a unique group show. While it brings together diverse works competing against each other without a unifying concept, it demands a spatial division that highlights each work's independence and artistic inquiry. The five pieces define and defend their own personal space, while simultaneously creating a new and unified soundscape. A key shared element among the works is the reference to the body. Elena Bellantoni addresses the political body, Agnes Questionmark uses her own body as a political vehicle, reflecting on hybrid and ever-changing worlds, Voluspa Jarpa involves the body in a synesthetic experience, Anna Franceschini evokes the body in the form of a machine. Finally, Mohamed Bourouissa reinforces the focus on the body and social themes as central elements of the exhibition.”
Agnes Questionmark CHM13HTERT, performance and installation at SpazioSERRA curated by The Orange Garden Milano 2023
Mohamed Bourouissa Iriss, 2023 Fusione d'alluminio Foto A. Guermani
Anna Franceschini What Time is Love?, 2017 Hd Video 11' 58'' minutes Courtesy the artistAnna Franceschini What Time is Love?, 2017 Hd Video 11' 58'' minutes Courtesy the artist
Voluspa Jarpa Cartografías de la Sindemia (Cartographies of the Syndemic), 2019-2023 Exhibition Politics of the Form, La Oficina Gallery, Madrid, 2024
Elena Bellantoni On The Breadline, 2019 Video 4K Foto A. Guermani
The artworks are powerful, visionary, and radical. They provoke thought and reflection on events and history, stirring emotions that surface to stay, to guide, and to challenge.
Celebrating a significant milestone—twenty years of thought, action, and research—is also an opportunity to reaffirm not only the role of art and culture but the need to take responsibility by showing up, no matter what.
Beatrice Merz, President of the Merz Foundation, states:
“In these twenty years, we have built a sentimental geography, made of presences and visions, shared experiences, and transformations. Celebrating an anniversary does not only mean looking back, but asking ourselves what we want to become. Art can still challenge us, shake up our habits, and open up new paths.”
The five finalists of the Mario Merz Prize, announced in May 2024, were selected by Samuel Gross and Claudia Gioia, while the choice of the winner was entrusted to Manuel Borja-Villel, Caroline Bourgeois, Massimiliano Gioni, and Beatrice Merz, along with the public vote.
The Mario Merz Prize continued with the music section with a concert by the composer and composers of the fifth edition—Arturo Corrales, Natalia Domínguez Rangel, and Luigi Morleo—scheduled for Sunday, June 29, 2025, at Cantina Ulmo in Sambuca di Sicilia, in collaboration with Planeta.
Cover Image: Agnes Questionmark, CHM13hTERT, 2023, Installazione, Foto A. Guermani
Agata Polizzi (1976) is Sicilian, lives and works in Palermo. Art historian and independent curator, PhD in History of architecture and conservation of architectural heritage, since 2011 he is a freelance journalist and correspondent for specialized art magazines. He taught at the Academy of Fine Arts in Palermo from 2004 to 2006 as an adjunct professor of Cultural Anthropology. He has curated exhibitions and publications for public and private museum institutions. He collaborates on contemporary research and projects with artists, cultural subjects and foundations at national and international level. Since 2019 he is the editorial director of My Art Guide, Italy. In 2019 he was adjunct curator of BAM Biennale Arcipelago Mediterraneo. He is guest curator at the Francesco Pantaleone Gallery of Contemporary Art Palermo / Milan. Since 2017 he has been curator of the visual arts section of the Migrant Literature Festival. He is a consultant for the Swiss Institute of Rome. He was the curatorial coordinator of ZACentrale in Palermo fand has collaborated with the Fondazione Mario Merz in Turin since 2014.
