This book presents major works by a group of contemporary artists that have became one of the most significant movements of neo-expressionism. "The Transavanguardia" includes Italian artists Sandro Chia, Francesco Clemente, Enzo Cucchi, Nicola De Maria and Mimmo Paladino. First exhibited as a group in the late 1970s, the Transavanguardia seemd to oppose the radical experimental media of previous decades with a return to more traditional expressive practices, particularly in painting and sculpture. The term itself, coined by art critic Bonito Oliva, recognizes this movement looks toward the past, with the intention of reviving certain languages already present in the deeper context of the Italian tradition including the avant-garde movements of the early 20th century. The group achieved international recognition in 1980, with a traveling exhibition held at the Kunsthalle in Basel, and in 1982 the artists in the group participated in Documenta 7 in Kassel. Within the span of only a few years, these five artists were seen as a distinct new movement and were exhibiting both individually and as a group in museums of contemporary art including the Guggenheim Museum New York. This catalog of the Fall 2002 exhibition at Castello di Rivoli Museum, Turin Italy examines the time the spontaneous emergence of this group from the late 1970s through 1989 in 80 works and puts world contemporary art movements in a new perspective. The English/Italian text includes essays by Jean-Christophe Ammann, Achille Bonito Oliva, Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev and John Yau, as well as documentation for these groundbreaking works in the extensive appendices.