Giancarlo Politi, Founder of Flash Art, has passed away

Giancarlo Politi (1937–2026) has passed away. Publisher, poet, and art critic, he was the founder of Flash Art, one of the most influential contemporary art magazines internationally.

Born in Trevi in 1937, Politi played a leading role for over half a century in the history of art, making a decisive contribution to the construction of the contemporary art system.

Giancarlo Politi, ph. Piotr Niepsuj

Founded in 1967, Flash Art was one of the first global editorial platforms dedicated to contemporary art. Today it publishes English, Italian, and Czech-Slovak editions, and over time it has developed numerous international editions, including French, Polish, Chinese, Spanish, German, and Russian. On its pages, some of the central movements of the late twentieth century were born and consolidated, from Arte Povera to the Transavanguardia.

But Flash Art was also a place of discovery and launch for artists, critics, and curators who have shaped the recent history of contemporary art: from Maurizio Cattelan to Jeff Koons, Marina Abramović, and figures such as Germano Celant, Massimiliano Gioni, and Francesco Bonami. Through its pages and its spirit, Flash Art formed generations of key players in today’s art system.

Alongside Politi, a fundamental role was played by Helena Kontova, publisher and life partner, who was instrumental in building the magazine’s international identity. The editorial legacy of Flash Art continues today through Gea Politi and Cristiano Seganfreddo, together with young Lev, in the sign of a cultural continuity that over time has taken on the features of a true contemporary art dynasty.

Politi was also the creator of the Art Diary, the historic international guide to the art system, defined by Andy Warhol as “the Bible of art.”

First through the famous and much-debated “Letters to the Editor,” and later with the Amarcord, Politi continued to intervene in cultural debate, reaffirming the value of taking a critical stance.

Restless and ironic, at times paradoxical, Giancarlo Politi was above all endowed with rare energy and an outsized presence: an tireless vitality, a visionary stubbornness, and an intellectual hunger and curiosity that transformed art into a way of life even before it became a profession. He lived through art and for art, moving across his time with a free and countercurrent spirit.

His passing marks the end of an era, but leaves behind a living legacy: a way of inhabiting art as necessity, as urgency, as a form of existence.

The Museo Reina Sofía presents its new COLLECTION. CONTEMPORARY ART: 1975 – PRESENT

Vista de la Sala 4 «Lo personal es político. Feminismos y nuevas presencias de género». Judy Chicago, Women and Smoke [Mujeres y humo] 1971-1972. Museo Reina Sofía. Fotografía: Roberto Ruiz. © Judy Chicago, VEGAP, Madrid, 2026 

The new exhibition narrative spans fifty years of art history, from the Spanish Transition to democracy to the present day, by way of more than four hundred works by 224 artists. Over half have not been exhibited previously in the Museo Reina Sofía Collections.

According to Spain’s minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun, the presentation is “a major cultural event that strengthens contemporary art, widening its scope and gathering more voices and more gazes, particularly the gazes of women”. Spain’s minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun, the president of the Museo Reina Sofía’s Board of Trustees, Ángeles González-Sinde, Museo Reina Sofía director, Manuel Segade, and the Museo’s deputy artistic director, Amanda de la Garza, yesterday unveiled COLLECTION. CONTEMPORARY ART: 1975 – PRESENT, the new presentation of the Museo Reina Sofía Collections spanning fifty years of contemporary art from Spain, from the Transition to democracy to the present day, via three exhibition routes. By way of a selection of 403 works by 224 artists, this new narrative seeks to cast light on the contribution of Spanish contemporary art.

The exhibition, unveiled for public display from 18 February, stretches across the entire fourth floor of the Sabatini Building, totalling more than 3,000 square metres. Its arrangement is linear and sometimes non-chronological and ranges across twenty-one chapters, comprising well-known pieces from the Reina’s Collections and acclaimed artists such as Picasso, Miró, Dalí, Juan Genovés, Juan Muñoz, Cristina Iglesias, Susana Solano, Juan Navarro Baldeweg, Esther Ferrer, Cristina García Rodero, Richard Serra and Andy Warhol. ​​

Presentation of the Special Prizes for the 17th edition of the Combat Prize 2026

installation view Combat Prize 2025, Museo della Città di Livorno

Five galleries, a foundation, an independent space, a production partner, and a platform dedicated to graphic design will select one or more artists from among the 80 finalists of the Combat Prize, initiating new collaborations through exhibitions, site-specific projects, and productions, which will be realized during the 2026–2027 exhibition season, in addition to the cash prizes awarded by the jury.

Created to support new collaborations and projects between artists and promoters of contemporary art, the Special Prizes give continuity to the dialogue initiated during the Combat Prize, promoting new professional opportunities and visibility for the selected artists.

The organizations involved:

A Pick Gallery (Turin)

Candy Snake Gallery (Milan)

Labs Contemporary Art (Bologna)

Mondoromulo arte contemporanea (Castelvenere, Benevento)

Fondazione The Bank ETS – Istituto per gli Studi sulla Pittura Contemporanea (Bassano del Grappa, Vicenza)

SAC – Spazio Arte Contemporanea (Livorno)

The program is completed by the Poliart Prize, which supports the production of a sculpture/installation, and THE PLACE Prize, dedicated to the creation of an intaglio engraving in collaboration with Calcografica Petronilla and Ultracontemporary Art Project aps.

Registration closes on April 30, 2026

For info: https://www.premiocombat.it/premi-speciali