Galleria Gracis in Milan, Italy, is excited to announce the upcoming exhibition “Il Gruppo Crack,” running from March 20 to June 20, 2025. This groundbreaking showcase will delve into the historical and critical significance of the Gruppo Crack, a short-lived yet impactful artistic collective that emerged in 1960. The exhibition will feature eight prominent Italian artists: Pietro Cascella, Piero Dorazio, Gino Marotta, Fabio Mauri, Gastone Novelli, Achille Perilli, Mimmo Rotella, and Giulio Turcato, alongside poet and critic Cesare Vivaldi.
Curated by Laura Cherubini, with critical contributions from Francesco Guzzetti and support from the artists’ archives, this exhibition marks the first comprehensive exploration of the Gruppo Crack’s artistic journey. Although the group lasted only a year, it represented a conscious break from the recent past and a critical stance against the prevailing artistic climate of the time.
The exhibition aims to analyze a pivotal moment of transition in the evolution of artistic languages on an international scale, particularly between the 1950s and 1960s. In this vibrant atmosphere, the artists sought to transcend the constraints of informal art and the dichotomy of abstraction versus realism, advocating for extreme freedom in styles, mediums, and themes. They expressed a desire for intellectual independence in the relationship between artwork, visual communication, and reality, declaring their initiative as a protest against the academicism dominating Italian art.
The Gruppo Crack’s legacy was encapsulated in a single exhibition held at the Galleria Il Canale in Venice in August 1960, notably through a publication promoted by Mauri, Marotta, and Vivaldi, published by Krachmalnikoff, a press associated with Achille Mauri, brother of artist Fabio.
The exhibition at Galleria Gracis will feature a wide selection of works from the artists of the Gruppo Crack, including pieces reproduced in the 1960 catalog. A special focus will be placed on Piero Dorazio, showcasing lesser-known reliefs documented in the Crack volume, illustrating the development and evolution of his work.
Accompanying the exhibition will be a catalog published by Manfredi Maretti, which will include a reprint of the original 1960 catalog. This volume will be organized into monographic sections, featuring color reproductions of the exhibited works, along with archival documents and materials related to the Gruppo Crack’s history.
The catalog will also include critical contributions from curator Laura Cherubini, an esteemed art historian and professor at the Accademia di Brera in Milan, and Francesco Guzzetti, a researcher and lecturer at the University of Florence.
Galleria Gracis is thrilled to share the captivating and significant story of the Gruppo Crack, offering a rare opportunity to discover the artistic contributions of this influential collective. Don’t miss this chance to engage with a pivotal chapter in Italian art history.
Photo credits: The photographs are the property of the gallery.