Untitled 

This striking wall-mounted sculpture, by the Italian artist Aldo Mondino, combines wood, metal, and electric lights. Mondino emerged in the Post-War era amid Arte Povera, a movement known for its use of everyday materials to challenge traditional art values. Like his contemporaries, Mondino subverted high art with mundane materials, here using simple light bulbs in an almost ornamental fashion. Made in a period of deindustrialization, the sculpture speaks to the social conditions of artistic production by highlighting both the accessibility of art and its reliance on mass produced goods. To understand Mondino’s sculpture more deeply, we can look to exhibition catalogues and critical essays from the period. These resources help us reflect on how it critiques the art institutions of its time, offering a commentary on the changing social landscape and the role of art within it.