Enrico Pedrini

Enrico Pedrini was born in Montesano, Filighera (Pavia), Italy, in 1940. A theorist and collector of Conceptual Art, Pedrini placed particular emphasis on the work of Bernar Venet, Art and Language and Victor Burgin. Pedrini’s collection focused on Dada, Fluxus, Minimal Art, Arte Povera, Vienna Aktionismus and Graffiti Art. His books and articles examine issues in Anthropological Art, Conceptual Art, and Possibilism. Notable books include John Cage, Happenings, and Fluxus (1986), The Quantic Machine and the Second Avant-Garde (1991) and Irreversibility and the Avant-Garde: An Essay on Physics and Modern Culture (2004).

Pedrini studied the interaction of dissipating systems, chaos theory and the new potential of art. He was recognized as a curator of international exhibitions, including projects at Studio Oggetto in Milan, the Persano Gallery in Turin, the Musée d’Art Moderne et Contemporain in Nice and Andrea Meislin Gallery in New York. Together with Wolfgang Becker, he curated the Taiwanese Pavilion at the 1995 Venice Biennale. Most recently, Pedrini curated exhibitions at the Galleria Il Ponte in Florence and Rome, Entropyart | in | progress in Naples, the Ludwig Museum in Koblenz, the Galerie Depardieu in Nice and OPEN in Venice. Enrico Pedrini was also a professor of epistemology at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Frosinone and wrote for publications including Segno in Italy, PerformArts in France and NYArts and ARTERY in New York. Enrico Pedrini died in Genoa, Italy, on April 19, 2012. He is survived by his wife Mariella Marcantoni and son Gianmaria.