On display: 61 works from the mid-19th century to the 1970s

There is an exhibition that is an absolute must-see, not only for art enthusiasts but for anyone who loves to immerse themselves in the narrative of painting and penetrate its deepest meaning, beyond labels and stereotypes. “Da Picasso a van Gogh”, held at the Museo Santa Caterina in Treviso and curated by Marco Goldin, gathers paintings from the Toledo Museum of Art (U.S.A - Ohio) while the institution undergoes renovation.

Museo Novecento marks the opening of the first-ever retrospective of Helen Chadwick (1953–1996) to be held in Italy. The artist was one of the most radical and controversial figures in British art during the second half of the 20th century.

A staunch feminist, Chadwick developed an experimental and unconventional body of work. Her research was deeply intertwined with an explicit reflection on the body, desire, and physical pleasure, which inspired the exhibition title, “Life Pleasures.”

GAM pays tribute to Lothar Baumgarten with an exhibition hosted in the museum’s videotheque. The showcase presents a series of photographs and videos tracing the artist’s stay in the Amazon, where he lived for over a year in the late 1970s.

The Serpentine Gallery is hosting David Hockney’s work for the first time in the exhibition “A Year in Normandie and Some Other Thoughts about Painting”. The showcase brings together drawings, paintings, and digital works created specifically for the occasion alongside earlier pieces, testifying to an artistic output that remains vibrant and prolific despite his eighty-eight years.

“Gabriele Münter: Contours of a World,” hosted by the Guggenheim, retraces the central role of the Expressionist artist in the development of art during the early decades of the 20th century. Born in Berlin to a middle-class family, she met Wassily Kandinsky in 1902; he was first her teacher, then the first to openly recognize her painterly talent, and eventually her partner. In 1911, alongside Franz Marc, she took part in founding the revolutionary Der Blaue Reiter group, contributing to a radical shift in the history of Western art.

His most daring and iconic works are on display, free from moral hierarchies
 

Three exhibitions, curated by Denis Curti with catalogs by Marsilio Arte, form a single grand narrative of the work of Robert Mapplethorpe (1946–1989) - the artist who, through photography, redrew the boundaries between pornography and art. These exhibitions in Venice, Milan, and Rome offer a deep dive into his themes of classicism, desire, and beauty.

The Centre Pompidou presents “Annette Messager and Christian Boltanski”, an exhibition dedicated to two of the most influential French artists of the late 20th century. Partners in their private lives, they decided from the very beginning to keep their respective artistic careers separate. The goal of this showcase is to highlight the elements that nevertheless seem to reunite the two through their work: the use of similar materials, an interest in large-scale installations, and the experimental use of photography.

Palazzo Reale debuts a site-specific exhibition by Anselm Kiefer. “Le alchimiste” is a showcase consisting of 40 monumental canvases that weave together esotericism and social contemporaneity. The works share a deep bond with the city of Milan: it was here that Caterina Sforza lived, author of a manuscript containing over 400 alchemical recipes and formulas.

BY GABRIELE DALLE LUCHE E PAOLO GARFAGNINI