Mario Merz was the seventh in a continuing series of cooperative projects organized by the Albright-Knox with HALLWALLS and CEPA Gallery. Recent paintings and constructions—replete with colossal primitive beats and turgid plant forms—were the focus of the exhibition. These paintings, with their densely worked surfaces and looming fervency, are highly expressionistic in impulse and replete with Merz’s personal iconography. Intrinsic to Merz’s work has always been visionary spirit and belief in the pure forces of creativity. For nearly two decades, the artist’s work in its multitudinous forms has continued to be an inspiring force, primarily in Europe. Merz has ventured into a visionary realm, all the while staying on the edge of theatricality and romantic effusion. 

An illustrated catalogue with a statement by the artist and an essay by Associate Curator Susan Krane was published on the occasion of the exhibition. A selection of the artist's drawings was on view concurrently at HALLWALLS.