Hidden Treasure. Informal Art, Surrealism, Art Brut
Edited by Roberta Trapani. With an essay by Bernard Blistène. Texts by Cristina Acidini, Luca Macchi, Tamara Floričić, Roberta Trapani, Pietro Nocita, Susanna Ragionieri, Michele Amedei, Roberta Serpolli, Pauline Goutain, Déborah Lehot-Couette, Katharine Conley, Kent Mitchell Minturn, Fabrice Flahutez
The volume accompanies the exhibition “Slavko Kopač. Il tesoro nascosto” (Accademia delle Arti del Disegno, Florence). With an introduction by Bernard Blistène, honorary director of the Centre Pompidou and advocate of the acquisition of twelve of Kopač’s works into the museum’s collection, the book explores a multifaceted artist, deeply connected to Surrealism, Informal Art, and Art Brut.
A key collaborator of Jean Dubuffet and the first curator of the Collection de l’Art Brut, Kopač played a fundamental part in its promotion and configuration. His magical, totemic universe captivated the Surrealists and led to a collaboration with André Breton. At the same time, critic Michel Tapié included him in Un art autre (1952), recognising his originality within the Informal Art movement.
He used painting, drawing, ceramics, sculpture, collage, and art books to explore materiality, intertwining reality and fantasy. The volume features contributions by leading international scholars and an extensive iconographic repertoire, including previously unpublished works and archival documents.
Exhibition: Accademia delle Arti del Disegno, Florence, 12 September – 13 November 2025
Bernard Blistène has been honorary director of the Centre Pompidou since 2021 and headed the institution from 2013 to 2021. He has left a significant mark on the museum’s profile through numerous exhibitions and retrospectives (Fontana, Twombly, Warhol, Baselitz, etc.), while also establishing museums in Marseille. He was a professor at the École du Louvre for twenty-five years and organiser of international biennials, conceiving and directing the Nouveau Festival at the Centre Pompidou and spearheading major projects, such as “Mondes Nouveaux”.
Roberta Trapani is a historian of contemporary art with a PhD awarded by Paris Nanterre and Palermo Universities in an international joint supervision programme. She is a cofounder of the Collective de réflexion autour de l’Art Brut (CrAB), the Kopač Commettee Association (Paris), and an associate researcher at ECLLA (University of Saint-Étienne), InTRU (University of Tours), and Osservatorio Outsider Art (Palermo). She has organised exhibitions in France, Belgium and Italy and published essays on twentieth- and twentyfirst-century artists and movements.
Slavko Kopač, il tesoro nascosto a Firenze | RAI Cultura
Slavko Kopač: una mostra a Firenze | Art(e)dossier
Firenze e il tesoro nascosto di Slavko Kopač in una grande retrospettiva | Exibart
Slavko Kopač – Il tesoro nascosto. Arte informale surrealismo art brut | Art Tribune
Il tesoro di Slavko Kopač. Firenze ricorda l’allievo | La Nazione
Mostre: il ritorno a Firenze di Slavko Kopač, un gigante dell’arte | thedotcultura.it
Slavko Kopač at the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno | The Florentine
