1+1. The relational years

The volume, published on the occasion of the exhibition at MAXXI, documents the first retrospective dedicated to relational aesthetics, a “theory of form” coined by Nicolas Bourriaud in the mid-1990s, which places human relationships at the center of artworks and transforms the audience from spectator to active participant. More than thirty years after its inception, the book historicizes this artistic movement by gathering a variety of texts, documents, interviews, and images.The curator's essay, contributions by Noah Barker and Sara Arrhenius, and Eleonora Farina's interviews with international critics trace the birth, development, and impact of relational art on the contemporary global scene. At the same time, Linda Motto's chronology retraces the most important stages of this movement: from historical precedents, dating back to the 1960s, to exhibitions, reference texts, and the critical debate of recent years. The result is a narrative choral, a fundamental book for deepening the understanding of relational art from its beginnings to today.