Marco Grassi, 1934–2025
Exiting the kitchen of art.
I learned this morning from The New Criterion that Marco Grassi passed away. Grassi was a longtime TNC contributor whose Encounter Books collection In the Kitchen of Art we read last summer in three parts as a title of the Asynchronous Studio Book Club. My summary conclusion about Kitchen:
“An ivory tower is a fine place as long as the door is open,” says one of Darby’s Aphorisms. Having so faithfully, intelligently, and perceptively served in the kitchen of that tower, Grassi has graciously thrown upon the doors, laid down a welcome mat, and set out espresso and biscotti for us. This reader is grateful and delighted.
I read it in awe of Grassi’s erudition and culture, and can think of no art writer alive who might match them. Rest in peace.
Content at DMJ is free but paid subscribers keep it coming. They also have access to Dissident Muse Salons, discounts in the print shop, and Friend on the Road consultations. Please consider becoming one yourself and thank you for reading.
Our current title in the Asynchronous Studio Book Club is Art in America 1945-1970: Writings from the Age of Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, and Minimalism by Jed Perl. For more information, see the ASBC homepage.
The current exhibition in the Dissident Museum is David Curcio: The Point of the Needle.
Never mind the art writers. How many artists can match Grassi's erudition and culture?