MONTECATINI TERME.- Leaving a mark on a wall may seem like a rebellious modern gesture, but a new exhibition at Mo.C.A. (Montecatini Terme Contemporary Art) argues that the impulse is as old as humanity itself.
Opening today, Giotto Was Banksy’s Grandfather. We Are in the World to Leave a Mark traces the long history of public expression, from prehistoric cave paintings and the rock engravings of Val Camonica to the graffiti of Pompeii, the subway writing of New York, and the global rise of street art.
Curated by Bruno Ialuna, the exhibition will remain on view through May 2, 2027, presenting an immersive journey across more than 60,000 years of visual culture. The project, organized by Mare Laboratorio di innovazione sociale, is presented with the patronage of the Province of Pistoia and the Region of Tuscany.
At the heart of the exhibition is a simple but powerful idea: public art did not begin in the 20th century. Long before graffiti writers marked trains and buildings, humans were already using shared spaces to communicate, remember, protest, celebrate and tell stories. The show connects these ancient gestures with the visual languages that now fill cities around the world.
The title draws a provocative line between Giotto and Banksy. If Banksy has become one of the most recognizable names in contemporary street art, the exhibition suggests that Giotto also understood the power of images to speak directly to a broad public, transforming walls and public spaces into tools of collective communication.
The exhibition unfolds through a series of narrative environments designed to evoke the contexts and atmospheres in which urban art developed. A major section focuses on the birth of writing in New York during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, with material connected to pioneers including TAKI 183, Jec*, Sjk 171, Mike 171, Riff170, Snake1, Stay High149, Coco144, Quik, Iz The Wiz, Lady Pink, Toxic, Delta2, Sar and Zephyr.
An immersive installation by papier-mâché master Jacopo Allegrucci recreates the visual energy of the New York subway, returning visitors to the original setting of one of the most influential artistic revolutions of the late 20th century.
From there, the exhibition expands outward, looking at the international development of urban art through figures including Cornbread, Blek Le Rat, Harald Naegeli, Hector Carrasco and Mick La Rock. Their work reflects scenes that emerged in Philadelphia, Paris, Zurich, Santiago de Chile and Amsterdam, showing how similar impulses took different forms in different cities.
A special focus is devoted to Bristol, with artists such as Robert Del Naja and Nick Walker, leading to the rise of Banksy and the broader transformation of street art’s public image in Europe.
The show also examines the moment in the 1980s when graffiti and urban art began entering galleries and museums. Works, photographs, rare materials and original documents recall the emergence of spaces such as the Graffiti Hall of Fame in Harlem and the historic 51X Gallery on St. Mark’s Place.
Music and cinema also play an important role in the exhibition. References to cult films such as Wild Style and Style Wars appear alongside vinyl records, photographs and archival materials connected to hip hop culture, highlighting the close relationship between graffiti, sound, movement and street identity.
The final section turns to Italy, from the pioneers of the 1980s to contemporary artists who have gained international recognition. Artists represented include Flycat, Francesco Garbelli, Alice Pasquini, Maupal, Diavù and Blub, shown alongside major figures from the global scene, with works arriving from all five continents.
Giotto Was Banksy’s Grandfather is not only a historical survey of urban art. It is also a reflection on the relationship between the individual and public space, between personal expression and collective memory. By placing today’s street art within a much older human story, the exhibition restores to urban art a sense of cultural depth, continuity and urgency.
