relazioni 2012-2026

Relazioni Montez is an editorial and research project that documents the Gio Montez experience, retracing through multiple perspectives the network of artists, curators, researchers and cultural institutions that have contributed to the growth of the Atelier Montez over time.

The project narrates the artistic research lead by Gio Montez between 2012 and 2026, an interdisciplinary artist and curator active between Rome and Frankfurt, whose practice is situated within the field of performance and contemporary action art. Educated between the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome and the context of Kunstverein Familie Montez in Frankfurt, his work is embedded in a transgenerational artistic lineage that draws from the legacy of Viennese Actionism and its contemporary developments. Within this framework, Gio Montez’s research has played a pivotal role in shaping the conceptual and methodological foundations of Atelier Montez, contributing to the development of a relational, process-based approach to artistic production. His practice, centred on the interaction between body, space and audience, has informed the participatory and interdisciplinary nature of the project, fostering a continuous dialogue between artistic experimentation, social context and institutional collaboration.

The catalog tells the story of Atelier Montez, from its founding in 2012
to the present day, tracing the evolution of the art praxis.

Born in the Pietralata district of Rome from a process of participatory urban regeneration, Atelier Montez gradually established itself as a space dedicated to the production, experimentation and circulation of contemporary art. Since its foundation in 2012, the project has fostered dialogue between artistic practice, territory and society through exhibitions, performances, editorial presentations, research activities and public programmes. The catalogue retraces this evolution, highlighting the transformations of the space and the collaborative processes that have shaped its identity over the years.

The title Relazioni Montez refers to the relational dimension that lies at the core of the Montez experience. Over time, Atelier Montez has developed an extensive cultural network involving artists, curators and cultural practitioners from different geographical and disciplinary contexts. This network has enabled the realization of artistic, editorial and institutional projects, generating a long-term collaborative ecosystem that continues to expand through national and international partnerships.

More than a traditional catalogue, Relazioni Montez is conceived as a living map of collaborations and as an editorial device capable of combining documentation, critical reflection and multimedia access. In line with its phygital approach, the publication integrates texts, archival images and visual materials with digital activations accessed through QR codes, allowing readers to explore additional content related to the events, projects and artworks documented in the volume.

By extending the documentation until 2026, the project reflects the ongoing evolution of Atelier Montez and introduces a stronger focus on digitalization as both content and method. This new phase highlights the development of tools and infrastructures connected to ARTup (https://artup.company/), a start-up and spin-off of fourteen years of research conducted by Atelier Montez, including digital archiving, online access, enhanced editorial visibility and new forms of presentation and circulation for contemporary art content. In this sense, the catalogue becomes not only a record of past activities, but also a platform through which the Montez method continues to evolve across physical and digital environments.

The publication is therefore conceived in close connection with its visual and digital presentation: the catalogue, the website and the e-commerce product page form a coherent ecosystem in which the book is presented not only through its cover, but also through selected spreads, relevant highlights and key project references that immediately communicate the breadth of the research developed by Atelier Montez. In this way, Relazioni Montez (2012–2026) positions itself as both an editorial publication and a broader cultural interface, capable of narrating the history of Atelier Montez while opening it to new audiences, new technologies and new international trajectories.