Ketty La Rocca: you you

The first UK museum exhibition dedicated to Ketty La Rocca (1938–1976), a trailblazing figure of Italian conceptual and feminist art. Though her career was cut short by her untimely death at the age of 38, La Rocca’s work has left a lasting impact, and this landmark exhibition brings her bold, witty and thought-provoking vision to a wider audience.

Born in La Spezia, La Rocca moved to Florence in 1956, where she began working with the avant-garde collective Gruppo 70. Her initial experiments included works of visual poetry and collages that explored the pervasive influence of the mass media on daily life, with a particular focus on gender issues and socio-political themes. During the early 1970s, she turned to an exploration of gesture, aiming to confront the limitations of patriarchal language structures and advocate for alternative – and arguably more meaningful – forms of communication.

The show provides a comprehensive overview of La Rocca’s artistic evolution and expressive range, featuring works of photography, video and sculpture in addition to examples of her celebrated Riduzioni (Reductions).