Enrico Crispolti. The criticism in progress is an exhibition promoted by the Municipality of Milan - Culture and produced by the Museo del Novecento in collaboration with the Associazione Archivio Enrico Crispolti APS.

Curated by Luca Pietro Nicoletti in collaboration with the Crispolti Archive, the exhibition aims to reconstruct the intellectual biography of the critic through a rich selection of materials, mostly unpublished, from his personal archive in Rome: annotated books, notes, correspondences, photographs, audio and video contributions, posters, and editorial documents.

The exhibition path, articulated in fourteen sections, highlights the key stages of Crispolti's research as well as how his commitment translated into method, project, and action, "with constant and tireless dedication and, above all, with a design capacity that in itself became a critical act" (Luca Pietro Nicoletti).

Through the exhibited materials, the exhibition retraces the central themes of his activity: the historicization of the Informal and its overcoming between New Figuration and Pop Art, the periodization of Futurism, the relationships between art and social participation embodied in a systematic theorization of Environmental Art and an active intervention in political debate.

Particular attention is also given to the bond that Crispolti established, since the fifties, with the city of Milan, where he was an active presence, in continuous dialogue and sharing with artists such as Lucio Fontana and Francesco Somaini, whose work represented, as stated by the critic, a "push for exegetic and methodological maturation".

The project intertwines chronology and themes, restoring the fundamental moments of Crispolti's career and the impact his work had on rewriting and redefining some crucial aspects of contemporary art events.
It emerges as a portrait of a scholar who has been able to combine historical research, civic engagement, and active participation in political and cultural debate, becoming a reference point for entire generations of artists and scholars.

The exhibition, hosted in the Archivi Ettore and Claudia Gian Ferrari space on the fourth floor of the Museum, will be accompanied by a monographic volume published by Silvana Editoriale, which collects essays, documents, and critical apparatus, as well as a program of in-depth events and guided tours.