Dietro le quinte di Geplante Malerei (1974): il contesto internazionale e la genesi della mostra

Abstract

The article examines the international context and the genesis of Geplante Malerei (West-fälischer Kunstverein, Münster, 1974), curated by Klaus Honnef, situating it within the criti-cal debate on the so-called “new painting” that emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In dialogue with earlier exhibitions in the United States and Europe – most notably Systemic Painting and the discourse on “opaque surfaces” – the study highlights the centrality of medium specificity and the pursuit of painting's “degree zero”. Particular attention is devoted to the role of Italy, especially the exhibitions Tempi di percezione (Livorno/Genova, 1973) and Un futuro possibile – nuova pittura (Ferrara, 1973), acknowledged by Honnef as key precedents. The research is grounded in the archival holdings of the Westfälischer Kunstverein (Archiv LWL, Best. 802/456; 348 documents), whose reclassification enables a detailed reconstruction of the exhibition's curatorial, institutional, logistical, and financial dynamics. This "behind-the-scenes" perspective clarifies the historical conditions that shaped the notion of “planned painting” and its subsequent reformulation in Analytische Malerei (1975).