Mario Merz in Retiro Park: Time is mute

The Velazquez Palace inside the Retiro Park is another space for contemporary art exhibitions such as the Crystal Palace and they can be both visited at once during your visit to the park. The space is hosting a retrospective exhibition of the Italian artist Mario Merz (1925-2003), ‘Time is mute’. His art was related to the ‘Arte Povera’ movement- meaning poor, impoverished, using ordinary, used materials, and was opposing the consumerist culture of post-war society- Pre-modern objects can be found in his work such as spiral, river, igloo, table, animal figures like crocodile and rhinoceros and one can find materials like lime, coal, etc. The igloo, which represents the life of a nomad, a symbol of ‘refuge’, impermanence, is so much produced by the artist that it has become an iconic figure of his works.