Farewell to Giancarlo Politi, founder of Flash Art and leading figure in contemporary art

Giancarlo Politi (1937-2026), publisher, poet and art critic, founder of Flash Art, among the most influential contemporary art magazines internationally, has died. Born in Trevi in 1937, Politi traversed more than half a century of art history as a protagonist, contributing decisively to the construction and definition of the contemporary system.

Founded in 1967, Flash Art was one of the first global publishing platforms devoted exclusively to contemporary art. Over the decades, the magazine has taken on an international dimension with English, Italian and Czech-Slovak editions, as well as developing additional editions in French, Polish, Chinese, Spanish, German and Russian. Some of the central movements of the second half of the twentieth century, fromArte Povera to the Transavanguardia, have found space and recognition in its pages. The magazine has also been a place of discovery and launch for artists, critics and curators who have made their mark on the global scene. Names that have passed through its pages include Maurizio Cattelan, Jeff Koons and Marina Abramović, alongside figures such as Germano Celant, Massimiliano Gioni and Francesco Bonami. Through its editorial line, Flash Art has contributed to the education of generations of practitioners in the art system.

Alongside Politi played a central role Helena Kontova, editor and life partner, who participated in building the magazine’s international identity. The editorial legacy continues today through Gea Politi and Cristiano Seganfreddo, together with little Lev, in a continuity that has taken on the features of a true dynasty linked to the contemporary art world over time. Politi was also the creator of the ArtDiary, an international guide to the art system that Andy Warhol called “the Bible of art.” With his “Letters to the Editor,” often at the center of debate, and later with Amarcord, he continued to intervene directly in cultural confrontation, claiming the centrality of critical stance.

A restless and ironic figure, sometimes prone to paradox, Politi maintained a constant presence in the artistic debate over time. With his passing, a season that saw specialized publishing as one of the main tools for the construction of contemporary discourse closes and left a living legacy: a way of experiencing art understood as an unavoidable need, a constant tension and the very dimension of existing.

Farewell to Giancarlo Politi, founder of Flash Art and leading figure in contemporary art

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