Italian artist Enzo Cucchi (b. 1949), is one of the pioneers of the 20th century trans avant-garde art movement, and was part of a wider international movement of Neo-Expressionist painters. Today he is considered one of Italy's most productive and innovative artists, and has become a model for the younger generation. His work is notable for its vibrant colour, figuration, and symbolism, with signs, symbols, mixed media, and words which meld into a powerful new aesthetic. His work is presented here in thematic chapters, and includes his ceramics, small bronze figurines, drawings, paintings, and artist books. This volume accompanies the exhibition Enzo Cucchi: Poet and Magician that will be held between May and November 2023 at MAXXI in Rome. Text in English and German. AUTHORS: Luigia Lonardelli earned a Master's degree in curatorship at the Facoltà di Architettura di Valle Giulia, Rome, in 2005. In 2009 she graduated from the Scuola di Specializzazione in Siena with a thesis on the history of photography. In 2012 she received her doctorate. Since 2005 she has worked in concert with the Direzione Generale per l'Arte Contemporanea, dealing mainly with the promotion of Italian art abroad. She began working as a researcher at MAXXI in Rome in 2010. Since 2011, she has worked in the Museum's curatorial department. She co-curated the XVI Quadriennale d'Arte in Rome, was an art consultant for the most recent appendix of the Enciclopedia Treccani, and is part of the scientific committee of the Fondazione Maria Lai. Bartolomeo Pietromarchi was born in Rome in 1968. He is an art critic and curator, and since May 2016 he has directed MAXXI Arte, Museo Nazionale delle Arti del XXI secolo. From 2011 to 2013 he directed MACRO Museo d'Arte Contemporanea in Rome. From 1998 to 2003 he directed the contemporary art program of the Fondazione Adriano Olivetti, of which he was also the director between 2003 and 2007. In 2007 and 2008 he was a curator for the Fondazione Hangar Bicocca in Milan. He is the author of many essays and volumes on art. He also curated the Italian Pavilion at the 55th Venice Biennale (2013). 70 colour illustrations