VIA DELLA FORNACE 41 50125 FIRENZE
Vincenzo Agnetti
Born in Milan in 1926, he trained at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts and, already in the 1950s, began shaping his artistic path by combining painting with an intense activity of critical writing and theory. From 1960 onward, his research moved toward conceptual art, developing a practice that spanned language, painting, performance, and installation.
His first major exhibition took place in 1967 at Palazzo dei Diamanti in Ferrara; the following year he presented the celebrated Macchina drogata, a provocative work that replaces numbers with letters of the alphabet in order to challenge the structures of language. In the years that followed, he collaborated with artists from the Italian scene such as Colombo, Scheggi, and Parmiggiani. In 1975, he worked with Robert Feldman and held his first exhibition in the United States.
His work has continued to be presented in major international contexts: in 1977 he took part in Mental Installation at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, and in 1978 he published the poetry volume Machiavelli 30. In the final years of his career, he produced the Photo-Graffi series (1979–1981), works in which poetry and style intertwine through interventions on treated photographic paper.
Vincenzo Agnetti died in Milan in 1981. Today his works are preserved and displayed in major institutions, including GAM in Milan, MART in Rovereto, MoMA in New York, and MOCA in Los Angeles.
Vincenzo Agnetti. Lavorare insieme è atto politico
Opening: February 13, 6:30 pm
13.02 – 04.03.2026
On the occasion of the centenary of the birth of artist Vincenzo Agnetti, on February 13 Forma Edizioni presents Vincenzo Agnetti. Working Together Is a Political Act, a multifaceted project comprising a publication, an exhibition, and a talk. The initiative reflects on the value of collaboration as a political gesture, exploring the work and thought of one of the most radical artists of the second half of the twentieth century.
The event is organized by Forma Edizioni with Rifugio Digitale and Teatro Nazionale di… Firenze, in collaboration with the Vincenzo Agnetti Archive. Project partner is the Paolo Scheggi Association, with technical support by Scena Urbana. Vincenzo Agnetti. Working Together Is a Political Act takes shape as a project that intertwines photography, language, and technology, originating from the publication of the volume of the same title edited by Bruno Corà and the Vincenzo Agnetti Archive. The aim is to convey the complexity of a central figure in Italian contemporary art, reaffirming the value of working together as a critical, shared, and political act. The exhibition will open to the public on February 13 at 3:00 pm at Rifugio Digitale and will be on view until March 4, 2026. The day of February 13 will begin at 12:30 pm with a press conference at Rifugio Digitale, followed by a VR experience reserved, on this occasion, for journalists. In the afternoon, from 3:00 pm to 5:30 pm, the exhibition will be open to the public, with access to the virtual reality experience available by reservation via Eventbrite. The February 13 program continues with the talk Vincenzo Agnetti. Working Together Is a Political Act, scheduled for 6:30 pm at the Teatro Nazionale di Firenze. The talk, also accessible by reservation via Eventbrite, will feature Laura Andreini (Editorial Director of Forma Edizioni and Artistic Director of Rifugio Digitale), Bruno Corà (art critic and curator of the exhibition), Germana Agnetti (President of the Vincenzo Agnetti Archive), Cosima Scheggi (President of the Paolo Scheggi Association), Ilaria Bignotti (Scientific Curator of the Paolo Scheggi Association), and Marco Senaldi (philosopher and media theorist), offering a critical and multidisciplinary discussion on Agnetti’s legacy and on the meaning of “working together” as a cultural and political practice. 
