Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev is an internationally recognized scholar of late 20th-century Italian art. She has published interviews and texts on artists such as Boetti, Pistoletto, Merz, Fabro and Kounellis. Formerly Senior Curator at P.S 1 Contemporary Art Center, New York, she is Chief Curator at the Castello di Rivoli, Turin.

"This is now the definitive English-language sourcebook on Merz, Pistoletto, Paolini and company, thanks to its rich selection of images and texts."—Bookforum"Get hold of Arte Povera... It is both compendium and critique, with artists' statements, a chronology and commentary. It contextualizes the work, and the pictures are great."—Adrian Searle, Guardian"Phaidon's Themes and Movements series seeks to provide the late 20th-century art history books of the future."—Art Monthly