It doesn’t take long to spot the tendencies of members of Arte Povera, the “poor art” movement that took shape in late-1960s Italy. Each of the poveristi had certain creative signatures — generally fertile, sometimes meandering toward shtick. Michelangelo Pistoletto did the mirror paintings, where the viewer is forced into the work, sharing the mirror’s surface with painted human figures. Alighiero Boetti had a geography obsession; he had maps woven by Afghan artisans, made books enumerating the world’s longest rivers, and played with postcards, magazine covers, and assorted lists.

The Fibonacci number sequences — written in neon spirals or scribbled on canvas — are Mario Merz’s, as are the steel-plate igloos. The wall sculptures of steel beams and metal shelves, laden with ground coffee or other goods, are by Jannis Kounellis. The marble pillars, swaddled in silk, that open at their bases into bird’s-feet of Murano glass, belong to Luciano Fabro. So do the upside-down outlines of Italy, painted gold or cast in lead or mounted on sticks, interpreting the country’s mood at the time of making.