is dawn arriving for milans art scene

Thaddaeus Ropac, a major European blue-chip gallery, opened its seventh location in Milan in January 2025, occupying a prime palazzo previously home to Massimo de Carlo and Peres Projects. The inaugural exhibition pairs Georg Baselitz and Lucio Fontana in a show titled "L’aurore viene." The move has reignited debate about whether Milan is finally poised to become a contemporary art capital, despite past false starts and the city's stronger identity as a fashion and design hub.

basquiat ruscha sothebys now contemporary art sale may 2025

Sotheby's three-part evening sale in New York on Thursday generated $186.1 million across 68 lots, landing near the high end of its $141 million to $204.9 million estimate. The sale included a focused 12-lot offering from the collection of late gallerist Barbara Gladstone, which sold all works without guarantees and totaled $18.5 million, and a 15-work guaranteed sale from dealer Daniella Luxembourg featuring postwar Italian artists, where Lucio Fontana's 'Concetto spaziale, La fine di Dio' (1963) achieved $14.5 million and Michelangelo Pistoletto's 'Maria Nuda' (1969) sold for $2.7 million after a five-minute bidding war.

For Italy’s Art Pioneer, a New Bronze Age

Giuseppe Penone, a leading figure of the Arte Povera movement, is preparing a major exhibition at Gagosian gallery in New York. The show will feature new bronze sculptures that continue his lifelong exploration of nature, form, and the human body, created in collaboration with curator Adam Weinberg, the former director of the Whitney Museum of American Art.

sperone westwater gallery winding down

Sperone Westwater, the venerable New York gallery that celebrated its 50th anniversary two months ago, will close as an entity on December 31, 2025. Co-founders Angela Westwater and Gian Enzo Sperone have decided to pursue separate endeavors, affecting 28 artists and estates. The gallery, known for representing legends like Bruce Nauman and David Lynch, will continue its current Richard Long show through December 13 and attend Art Basel Miami Beach as planned. The closure follows months of rumors and comes as both partners are in their 80s.

10 exhibitions you can still see after Berlin's Gallery Weekend

10 Ausstellungen, die Sie auch nach dem Gallery Weekend in Berlin sehen können

The Monopol editorial team highlights ten standout exhibitions from Berlin's Gallery Weekend, including Jiyoon Chung's installation "Dead End" at Anton Janizewski, which uses subtle triggers to explore perception and anxiety; Giorgio Griffa's retrospective at Walter Storms Galerie, featuring his poetic abstract paintings on raw linen; Walid Raad's narrative-driven show at Galerie Thomas Schulte, referencing the Lebanese civil war with a crashed VW Beetle and bomb graffiti; and Thomas Demand's new works at Sprüth Magers, printed on copper plates to create a shimmering aura. The article provides a curated tour of these shows, many of which remain open after the weekend.

From Agnès Varda to Giuseppe Penone, the strange passion of artists for potatoes deciphered in Aubenas

D’Agnès Varda à Giuseppe Penone, l’étrange passion des artistes pour les patates décryptée à Aubenas

The article explores the exhibition "Des patates" at Le Château – Centre d'Art Contemporain et du Patrimoine in Aubenas, France, which celebrates the humble potato as an artistic subject. It highlights how filmmaker and visual artist Agnès Varda turned potatoes into art with her 2003 Venice Biennale project "Patatutopia," dressing as a potato and scattering 700 kilos of tubers, inspired by her documentary *Les Glaneurs et la glaneuse*. The show also features works by Giuseppe Penone, Michel Blazy, Valérie Geissbühler Pacheco, and Lucas Chanoine, all using potatoes to explore themes of consumption, waste, colonialism, and the cycle of life.

sonnabend collection works museum italy arte povera pop art

A new museum dedicated to the legendary art collection of dealer Ileana Sonnabend opened in Mantua, Italy, this past weekend. Housed in the 13th-century Palazzo della Ragione, the Sonnabend Collection Mantova displays nearly 100 artworks valued at $270 million, including masterpieces by Pop artists like Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol, Arte Povera sculptors such as Michelangelo Pistoletto, and contemporary figures like Bruce Nauman. The project is a partnership between the Municipality of Mantua, the Sonnabend Collection Foundation, and Marsilio Arte, with a six-year renewable loan agreement.

Hotel and art hub Casabianca opens on Italy's Lake Como

The De Santis family, accomplished hoteliers on Lake Como, has opened Casabianca, a new hotel and art hub in a 1930 villa designed by Piero Ponci. The property features three apartment-style suites launching later this year, while its lower floors are already open to the public for €15, displaying around 50 works from the family's collection of post-war Italian art, including pieces by Arte Povera artists such as Alighiero Boetti, Mario Merz, and Jannis Kounellis. The venture is the latest in a series of heritage hotel restorations by the family, who previously revived the Grand Hotel Tremezzo and Passalacqua.

You Can Become an Artwork at This New York Museum—Thanks to Piero Manzoni

Magazzino Italian Art in Cold Spring, New York, is reactivating Piero Manzoni’s seminal conceptual work, "Magical Base" (1961). On April 10 and 11, visitors can stand on the artist's wooden pedestal to be documented as living sculptures, receiving a photograph and record of their participation. The activation is part of the larger exhibition "Piero Manzoni: Total Space," which also features the artist's "Achromes" and immersive, unrealized environments like the "Phosphorescent Room" and "Hairy Room."

artnet auctions 20th century art 2

Artnet Auctions is hosting its '20th Century Art' sale, now live for bidding through March 19, 2025. The sale features a curated selection of portraits by leading 20th-century artists, including Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Pablo Picasso, Niki de Saint Phalle, Michelangelo Pistoletto, and Alex Katz. Highlights include Saint Phalle's playful sculpture 'Tête de Femme' (1982), Picasso's abstract graphite drawing 'Homme au chapeau jouant de la guitare' (1914–1915), and Lichtenstein's Ben-Day dot print 'The Art Critic' (1996).

the mayor gallery celebrating 100 years

The Mayor Gallery in London is celebrating its centenary with a three-part exhibition series revisiting its history. The second part, 'Celebrating 100 years – Part 2: European Art,' is on view through February 20, 2026, showcasing post-war European artists from movements like ZERO, Arte Povera, and Concrete art, including works by Armando, Lucio Fontana, François Morellet, and Man Ray.

In Giuseppe Penone’s Sculptures, Humankind and Nature Are One

Giuseppe Penone is preparing for his exhibition 'The Reflection of Bronze' at Gagosian's New York flagship, running from April 22 through July 2. The show, curated by former Whitney Museum director Adam D. Weinberg, features eighteen artworks from 1995 to the present, including the new sculpture 'Marsia (Marsyas)', and is designed to create a forest-like sensory immersion using materials like cork.

Franco Vaccari Recasts the Viewer as Creator

Franco Vaccari, a pioneering Italian artist associated with Arte Povera and conceptual art, is the subject of a new exhibition that repositions the viewer as an active participant in the creative process. The show, featured in Frieze's Critic's Guides, highlights Vaccari's interactive works, including his famous photomatic booth installations where visitors become both subject and author of the artwork.

9 Must-See Summer Shows in Upstate New York

Galerie magazine has compiled a curated list of nine must-see summer art exhibitions in upstate New York, highlighting the region's growing cultural significance. Featured shows include a Leonora Carrington survey at the Katonah Museum of Art, a historical exhibition on the Baghdad Modern Art Group at CCS Bard Galleries, and a collaborative installation by Antonio Marras and Maria Lai at Magazzino Italian Art. Other venues include The School in Kinderhook, The Campus near Hudson, Sky High Farms in Germantown, and the Edward Hopper House Museum & Study Center.

Arts of the Earth

ARTES DE LA TIERRA

The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao has inaugurated "Artes de la Tierra" (Arts of the Earth), a multidisciplinary exhibition curated by Manuel Cirauqui that examines the relationship between contemporary art and the soil. Spanning from the mid-20th century to the present, the show integrates visual arts, architecture, and ancestral Basque knowledge to explore themes of composting, terraforming, and ecological repair. Featured artists include pioneers of Land Art and Arte Povera such as Ana Mendieta, Fina Miralles, and Meg Webster, whose works are presented alongside archival materials and architectural models.

Mario Schifano, the artist who anticipated Arte Povera and beyond. What the exhibition in Rome looks like

The Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome has opened a major retrospective of Mario Schifano, curated by Daniela Lancioni and titled simply "Mario Schifano," running until July 12. The exhibition reconstructs the career of the Italian artist (1934–1998), who worked across painting, film, and music, and highlights his role as a precursor to Arte Povera. A centerpiece is the reconstructed dining room Schifano created for the Rome home of Marella and Gianni Agnelli in 1968, featuring 14 canvases and a planned but unrealized sand-filled room with a pyramid, a detail revealed by film producer Ettore Rosboch in a conversation with the curator.

Pilar Crespi on the art-world friendships that have inspired her collection, and how to spend five days in Miami

Pilar Crespi, a Miami-based philanthropist and former fashion executive, discusses her art collection and Miami recommendations in an interview with The Art Newspaper. She recounts buying her first artwork—an oil painting by Tano Festa—while living in Rome, and her most recent acquisitions include works by Sidival Fila and Yoan Capote. Crespi also shares her regret over not purchasing a Jean-Michel Basquiat painting at a Christie's auction 30 years ago, and names a Caravaggio from the Galleria Borghese and Jackson Pollock's *Two* as her dream museum pieces.

Vanités contemporaines

The article explores the enduring relevance of still life and vanitas in contemporary art, tracing their evolution from the biblical proclamation "Vanity of vanities; all is vanity" through modern masters like Paul Cézanne, Pablo Picasso, and Giorgio Morandi to contemporary practitioners such as Claudio Parmiggiani. It highlights how artists continue to use everyday objects—compotes, skulls, pitchers, apples—as vehicles for formal experimentation and philosophical reflection, with still life serving as a minimalist device that allows infinite plastic research.

giancarlo politi founder flash art magazine died at 89

Giancarlo Politi, the influential founder and publisher of Flash Art magazine, has died at the age of 89. Established in Rome in 1967, Flash Art became a cornerstone of international art criticism, famously documenting the rise of the Arte Povera movement and providing an early platform for iconic artists like Marina Abramović, Maurizio Cattelan, and Jeff Koons. Politi, alongside his wife Helena Kontova, transformed the publication into a global network that bridged European and American art scenes, effectively serving as a "hands-on school" for generations of critics and curators.

Pappi Corsicato's film on photographer Claudio Abate, which recounts the artistic ferment of Rome between the 1960s and 1990s, is now on RaiPlay

È su RaiPlay il film di Pappi Corsicato sul fotografo Claudio Abate che racconta il fermento artistico di Roma tra gli Anni ’60 e ‘90

RaiPlay has released a new documentary film by Pappi Corsicato titled "Claudio Abate. L’obiettivo nell’arte" (2026), which pays tribute to the late photographer Claudio Abate (1943–2017). The film weaves together interviews, archival materials, and footage from Istituto Luce to chronicle Abate's life and work, focusing on his role documenting the vibrant Roman art scene from the 1960s through the 1990s. It highlights his collaborations with key figures such as Jannis Kounellis, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Fabio Sargentini, and the artists of the Pastificio Cerere school, capturing seminal performances, happenings, and installations that defined Arte Povera and other avant-garde movements.

È morto Paolo Masi. La lunga ricerca dell’artista fiorentino sulla trasformazione dei materiali poveri

Paolo Masi, the Florentine artist known for his lifelong exploration of poor materials and their transformation, died in Florence on Wednesday, May 6, just days before his 93rd birthday. His career spanned from informal experiments in the 1950s through a rigorous investigation of materials in the 1960s, including his first solo show at the Strozzina in 1960. He joined the aesthetic research group Centro F/Uno alongside Baldi, Lecci, and Nannucci, and later co-founded the collective spaces Zona (1974) and Base (1998) with Mario Mariotti and Maurizio Nannucci. Masi participated in the Venice Biennale (1978) and the Rome Quadriennale (1986), and his works are held by major museums and foundations internationally. His later years saw significant retrospectives at the Museo MAGA in Gallarate (2018) and at Le Murate in Florence (2018), as well as a 2023 solo show at Florence's Galleria Frittelli, which remembered him as an extraordinary artist and dear friend.

The 90 Years of Legendary Italian Artist Giorgio Griffa. All the Exhibitions Celebrating the Master's Birthday

I 90 anni del mitico artista italiano Giorgio Griffa. Tutte le mostre per celebrare il compleanno del maestro

Giorgio Griffa, the Italian painter known for his radical and minimalist approach, turned 90 on March 29, 2026. A comprehensive program of celebrations includes the exhibition "Summer 69" at the Fondazione Giorgio Griffa in Turin (through July 2, 2026), which revisits his breakthrough summer of 1969 with photographs by Paolo Mussat Sartor alongside his early and recent works. The Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea has opened a monographic room with works from its permanent collection, and the Galleria Civica d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Torino will dedicate a similar space in May. The MAXXI – Museo Nazionale delle Arti del XXI secolo has acquired six monumental works spanning over thirty years of Griffa's career, from the 1970s to the early 2000s.

Artist Michelangelo Pistoletto sends message of 'preventive peace' on digital billboards around the world

Italian Arte Povera pioneer Michelangelo Pistoletto has launched a global public art project titled "Three Mirrors," broadcasting digital works across major cities including London, Los Angeles, Seoul, and Milan. Organized by the digital art platform Circa, the series features three filmed performances of the artist drawing on mirrors, illustrating his "Third Paradise" philosophy. The works appear daily at 20:26 local time on prominent advertising screens, transforming commercial spaces into sites for artistic reflection.

egidio marzona dead avant garde collector archive

Egidio Marzona, the influential German-Italian collector, publisher, and patron, has died at the age of 81 in Berlin. Renowned for his intellectual approach to collecting, Marzona focused on the 20th-century avant-garde, including movements such as Bauhaus, Dada, Fluxus, and Arte Povera. Unlike traditional collectors, he prioritized the preservation of archives, letters, and ephemera alongside physical artworks, viewing the "paper trail of ideas" as essential to understanding artistic history.

Egidio Marzona, Collector Who Built a Monument to the Avant-Garde, Dies at 81

Egidio Marzona, the influential German-Italian collector, publisher, and patron, has died at age 81 in Berlin. His vast collection focused on 20th-century avant-garde movements, from Dada and Bauhaus to Fluxus and Arte Povera, and was distinguished by its deep archival holdings of letters, diagrams, and ephemera that documented the intellectual processes behind the art.

daughter of marisa merz cancels show in kassel over documentas antisemitism policy

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.

michelangelo pistoletto great pyramids art degypte

Italian artist and Arte Povera pioneer Michelangelo Pistoletto, aged 91, has been announced as a headliner for the 2025 edition of "Forever Is Now," an annual outdoor exhibition at the Great Pyramids of Giza. Pistoletto will create a monumental installation described as merging ancient civilization with modern ideas, with full details yet to be revealed. The project involves his Cittadellarte foundation, which is offering a fully-funded three-year bachelor course at its Unidee Academy in Biella, Italy, to Egyptian artists, supported by the Italian Institute of Culture in Cairo.

Tutto Boetti 1966–1993

Tutto Boetti 1966–1993

Magazzino Italian Art has announced a major survey exhibition titled "Tutto Boetti 1966–1993," scheduled to run from April 2026 through April 2028. The show features approximately 30 works tracing Alighiero Boetti’s career from his early industrial material experiments in Turin to his later collaborative embroideries and graph paper works. The exhibition draws from the museum’s permanent collection, the Boetti estate, and private loans, and will be launched alongside a scholarly symposium organized with the Fondazione Alighiero e Boetti.

Reina Sofía Museum

The Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid has closed its garden for maintenance and temporarily closed its two satellite buildings, the Glass Palace and Velázquez Palace in El Retiro Park, for renovation. The main museum remains open, showcasing its renowned collection of modern and contemporary art, including Picasso's Guernica and works by Dalí, Miró, and Bourgeois.

Michelangelo Pistoletto: ‘AI will not destroy humanity, we are doing it ourselves’

Italian artist and Arte Povera pioneer Michelangelo Pistoletto, aged 92, has opened a new exhibition at Helly Nahmad Gallery in London, pairing his latest Mirror Paintings with Cubist works by Pablo Picasso, including Picasso's 1924 painting *Partition, Guitare, Compotier*. In an interview with The Art Newspaper, Pistoletto discusses how his mirror works—first presented in 1963—break down the traditional perspective of art, reflecting society and reality in a 360-degree space-time continuum, and how Picasso's shattering of the image paved the way for his own innovations. He also touches on his Cittadellarte foundation in Biella, his Nobel Peace Prize nomination, and his "Third Paradise" philosophy.