The direction of contemporary art arte povera (poor materials) emerged in the sixties in Italy as a challenge to the elite artistic traditions. The movement used a wide range of materials: everyday objects, non-industrial natural materials (logs, earth, wax), construction waste (sacks, ropes), as a means of creating works of art. The main task of the movement was an attempt to move away from the gallery market system. On the other hand, arte povera opposes modernism and technology, opposes the new to the old, and believes that modernity is capable of erasing collective memory and traditions.

Arte povera's approach is reminiscent of the assemblage technique, the distinguishing factors being the interest in materiality and corporality. The direction of poor materials has no clear boundaries in implementation and technology. The artists used different media: drawing, photography, performance, installation and more. The main goal was to captivate and cause reflection or reaction to the work. The use of natural materials, second-hand clothing or household items called into question established values, the emergence of consumer culture and criticized the industrialization and mechanization of the time.

Over time, the influence of the movement became noticeable all over the world, and today, on the wave of interest in the use of poor and natural materials in installations and the aesthetics of arte povera, it is also manifested in Belarus. Belarusian artist Vasily Vasilyev works in various media, the main one is sculpture, where arte povera is reflected. The artist often turns to poor materials or uses found objects. But fundamentally does not use materials and objects with explicit meaning and designated symbolism.

Representatives from Belarus: Roman Aksyonov, Bismarck, Vasily Vasilyev, Galina Vasilyeva, Igor Kashkurevich, Artur Klinov, Oleg Ladisov, Vladimir Lappo, Viktor Petrov, Ala Savoshevich, Ales Faley, Yura Shust.