Ketty La Rocca: you you

10 Sep-21 Dec 2025

Overview

The Estorick Collection presents the first UK museum exhibition dedicated to Ketty La Rocca (1938–1976), a key figure of Italian conceptual and feminist art. Born in La Spezia, La Rocca moved to Florence in 1956 where she began working with the avant-garde collective Gruppo 70. Her initial experiments included works of visual poetry and collages that explored the pervasive influence of the mass media on daily life, with a particular focus on gender issues and socio-political themes. During the early 1970s, she turned to an exploration of gesture, aiming to confront the limitations of patriarchal language structures and advocate for alternative – and arguably more meaningful – forms of communication.

The Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art opened in London in 1998. A Grade II listed Georgian town house, it was originally restored with support from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The exhibition programme continues to address artists, movements, and questions in ways that change our understanding of Italian art and culture.