This Weekend’s Must-See Exhibitions in Italy: Radical, Reflective, and Visually Stunning
What to do this weekend? If you are looking for inspiration, provocation or pure wonder, the exhibitions scheduled throughout Italy are an invitation to explore the world with new eyes. From the interior deserts of Francesca Leone to the existential photographs of Enzo Ragazzini, passing through the political lyricism of Che Guevara, the rebellious sheep of Deborah Napolitano and the alchemical visions of Luigi Serafini: here is a selection of the most stimulating artistic projects underway.
A journey that spans centuries, genres and identities. From the Baroque art of Caravaggio reinterpreted in the twentieth century to the universal language of the body and exile staged by Shirin Neshat, each exhibition is an opportunity to reflect on who we are, where we come from and where we are going.
Milan – Shirin Neshat and the body as political territory
At the PAC – Padiglione d’Arte Contemporanea in Milan, until June 8, comes Body of Evidence, the largest Italian solo exhibition by the Iranian artist Shirin Neshat. Curated by Diego Sileo and Beatrice Benedetti, the exhibition brings together videos, photographs and installations that reflect on female and male identity in the Islamic context, addressing themes such as martyrdom, exile, repression and the strength of the individual.
An opportunity to understand, through visual art, the social and political conflicts that cross the Middle East and the Iranian diaspora.
Rome – Enzo Ragazzini’s suspended time and Francesca Leone’s sound sculptures
At the GNAM (Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea), Zzzz desert by Francesca Leone transforms the space into a sound and visual landscape: metal sculptures that evoke rocks and desert flowers are accompanied by a musical composition that blends the buzzing of bees and natural sounds, signed by Marco Turriziani.
Also in Rome, at the RIA Lussi Art Studios, the photographic exhibition Aspettando Godot by Enzo Ragazzini continues until April 16: a powerful anthology of waiting faces, shot around the world from 1965 to 2022. An absorbed, silent humanity, witness to life’s expectations.
Bologna – Che Guevara, the man behind the icon
Until June 30, at the Museo Civico Archeologico in Bologna, Che Guevara tú y todos shows us an intimate and profound face of the Commander, through over 2000 unpublished documents: letters, poems, photographs and period films.
The exhibition, created with the collaboration of Aleida and Camilo Guevara, delves into the man behind the myth, the father, the poet, the loving husband, giving us back the human weight of his revolutionary choices.
Florence – The Dialogue between Caravaggio and the Twentieth Century
At Villa Bardini, Caravaggio and the Twentieth Century, curated by Cristina Acidini and Claudio Paolini, connects the luminous violence of Merisi with the reinterpretations of modern and early twentieth-century artists, in the wake of the studies of Roberto Longhi and Anna Banti.
Among the works on display, masterpieces such as the Boy Bitten by a Lizard by Caravaggio and the Apostles by Ribera, but also drawings, photographs and archive documents that reconstruct the intellectual climate of the time.
Fontanellato – The Alien Universe of Luigi Serafini
At the Labirinto della Masone, From Serafini to Luigi. The Egg, the Skeleton, the Rainbow is an immersion in the creative mind of the author of the legendary Codex Seraphinianus. Curated in collaboration with the Franco Maria Ricci Foundation, the exhibition explores Serafini’s work before and after the Codex, highlighting the construction of a visual imagery that influenced art, design and pop culture.
Moresco – Rebel Sheep and Disobedient Identities
At the TOMAV Experience in the Torre di Moresco, Flock by Deborah Napolitano is a project that focuses on the figure of the sheep as a metaphor for uniqueness and belonging. Starting from the self-portrait “black sheep” of 2017, Napolitano builds a herd of sculptures that speak of identity, necessary disobedience, diversity and irony.
