An exhibition of work by late Arte Povera artist Marisa Merz, planned for the Fridericianum museum in Kassel, Germany, has been canceled by her daughter Beatrice Merz. Beatrice, president of the Fondazione Merz, called off the show in protest of Documenta's newly adopted Code of Conduct, which uses the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism. The exhibition was originally scheduled to open in August 2025 and was replaced with a Robert Grosvenor survey. The cancellation was confirmed by Andreas Hoffmann, managing director of Documenta and the Fridericianum.
The cancellation highlights ongoing tensions around Documenta following its controversial 2022 edition, which featured antisemitic imagery and sparked a government inquiry. Beatrice Merz stated she opposed the IHRA definition because it could restrict artistic freedom and criticism of Israel, favoring instead the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism. This incident reflects broader cultural debates in Germany, where the Bundestag formally adopted the IHRA definition in 2024 despite opposition from artists and academics. It signals that Documenta's legacy remains divisive and that institutional policies on antisemitism continue to affect curatorial and artistic collaborations.