Background
Mario Merz was a prominent artist in the arte povera movement, which was active mainly in Italy from 1967 to 1972. Arte povera literally means ‘poor art’ and the young Italian artists in this movement often made works from ‘poor materials’, such as found objects and everyday materials like twigs, soil and rags. With their artworks, installations and performances, they adopted a critical stance towards consumer society and the social injustices in Italy at that time. This sculpture was created in 1982 for the modern art exhibition documenta 7 in Kassel, Germany, where it was placed over a stream. In 1984 it was acquired by the Kröller-Müller Museum and placed in the sculpture garden. And Merz changed the original title, Igloo con il Ruscello (Igloo with the Stream) to the current one: Igloo di pietra (Igloo of Stone).
Conservation
Due to its constant exposure to the elements and the fragile materials the artist used, Igloo di pietra suffers from algae growth, corrosion and deterioration of the steel support structure, anchor rods and stones. This is not only detrimental to the construction of the work, the sculpture also no longer looks the way the artist intended.
To restore the work, the stone slabs need to be cleaned and repaired. The corroded sections of the frame require treatment and missing stones and anchors will be replaced. Further detailed examination is needed for a thorough conservation. It is likely that the work will have to be completely dismantled and reassembled in the original way after treatment.
Planning
Preliminary research for this conservation began in 2023. That includes researching the timeline of this work in our collection and identifying previous treatments. It is also important to know what the artist's intention was. The extent to which he would have accepted deterioration of the work. To ascertain this, we will be in contact with the Fondazione Merz. In addition to establishing the correct approach to the conservation, the planning and required costs should also be determined this year. And we need to investigate which conservator has the appropriate expertise to carry out this project. The project plan is expected in the third quarter of 2024, with the conservation itself preferably starting before the winter of 2024/2025.