Sculptural Materiality in the Age of Conceptualism is structured around four distinct but interrelated projects initially realized in Italy between 1966 and 1972: Yayoi Kusama's Narcissus Garden, Michelangelo Pistoletto's Newspaper Sphere (Sfera di giornali), Robert Smithson's Asphalt Rundown, and Joseph Beuys's Arena. Here, they anchor a
"While the book addresses one Italian artist, Pistoletto, it underscores the radical artistic subculture in Italy during this period. Moreover, it demonstrates that the tension between materiality and immateriality that ran through arte povera yielded a welcome environment for international artists wishing to undertake such projects as well as a support system for their patronage, realization, documentation and photography."
-Rosalind McKever, Art History