WATTS INDEXThe canonical database of visual culture

Artists›Giovanni Anselmo

Giovanni Anselmo

1934

WA-00001190

SculptureArte Povera

Representation

None documented

Institutional Exhibitions

Works in Collection

Assets Indexed

Authority-backed Facts

Publications Referenced

80%

Profile Completeness

Cultural Positioning

Influence Graph

No influence edges encoded yet.

Authority Records (2)

WikidataQ637274

MoMA

Field Verification (3 fields)

1 cross-verified · 2 single-source

Birth yearArtsy· 92%✓
NationalityWikidata + Artsy· 92%
LocationGallery Generic· 72%

Source Registry (3)

Marian-Goodmanhttps://www.mariangoodman.com/artists/
Tier 3 · Scraped/inferred100%
Christies-Artsyhttps://www.artsy.net/artist/giovanni-anselmo
Tier 3 · Scraped/inferred100%
MoMA bulk 2026-05-04https://www.moma.org/artists/8211
Tier 1 · Institutional92%

About

Why this artist matters now

Giovanni Anselmo is an Italian sculptor associated with Arte Povera, the post-war movement that prioritized raw materials and natural processes over craft refinement. His work, exemplified by Untitled (1968), engages directly with time and geological material, treating sculpture as a site where entropy and growth become visible. Anselmo employed granite, water, and other elemental substances to create works that document change rather than arrest it, positioning the artwork as an active temporal event rather than a finished object.

Source: Marian Goodman · Trust score: 100% · Updated 2mo ago

Graph relationships

Taste overlap and adjacency

Movement

Arte Povera

Medium

Sculpture

Related Artists

12 in graph

Institutional

Museum Collections

Art Institute of Chicago Tate

Canonical record

Artworks (8)

Toward the Ultramarine (Verso oltremare)

1984 · Stone, wire, ultramarine paint

289.6 × 129.6 cm (114 × 51 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

WattsOS

Il panorama con mano che lo indica

1982 · Pencil on paper, stone

Sheet: 120 1/8 x 80" (305.1 x 203.2 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Tutto (All)

1973 · Paperboard in embossed wood frame

14 3/4 x 20 1/2 x 3/4" (37.5 x 52.1 x 1.9 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Particolare

1972 · 35 mm gelatin silver transparency on ortho film in 5 x 5 cm plastic mount, Kodak Carousel S-AV 1050 Projector

Dimensions vary with installation

Art Institute of Chicago

Torsion

1968 · Cement, leather, and wood

52" x 9' 5" x 58" (132.1 x 287 x 147.3 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Direction

1967 · Fabric, glass and metal

displayed: 243 x 4200 x 3350 mm

Tate

WattsOS

La mia ombra verso l'infinito della cima dello Stromboli durante l'alba del 16/8/65 [Study F] (My Shadow Facing the Infinity of Stromboli At Sunrise 08/16/65 [Study F])

1965 · Pencil on printed paper

Museum of Modern Art

Artwork sources (3)

8 published of 13 catalogued · 9 with image

MoMA
5 publishedof 10 catalogued6 img
Art Institute Chicago
2 published2 img
Tate
1 published1 img

Per-Artwork Provenance Chains (top 1)

1 entries · 1 sources

Direction
1967 · Tate · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number

Record

Images

Artsy

Art Institute of Chicago

Torsion (1968) Giovanni Anselmo (1934) (45445261121)

Wikimedia Commons (Instagram fallback)

Relationships

Movements1

Arte Povera

Collections3

Art Institute of Chicago Tate Christie's

Institutional

Representation & Collections

In collection

Art Institute of Chicago

In collection

Tate

Market

Auction sale history

Houses that have sold works by this artist at auction

Auction house

Christie's

Record

Exhibitions and timeline

No exhibitions or timeline entries yet