Palazzo Esposizioni in Rome has opened a major exhibition dedicated to Mario Schifano (1934–1998), running alongside a solo show by Marco Tirelli titled "Anni Luce." The exhibition, curated by Daniela Lancioni, explores Schifano's work through the lens of Kazimir Malevich's Suprematism, particularly his 1915 "Black Square." It features Schifano's early monochromes from 1960, his painting "Chiamato K. Malewič" (1965), and a rarely seen pre-1960 phase including landscapes and informal works from 1956–1959, which have often been marginalized in his official catalog.
This exhibition matters because it repositions Schifano within a broader genealogy of modern vision, connecting his practice to Malevich's radical rethinking of painting. By foregrounding Schifano's early, lesser-known works and emphasizing the materiality of his monochromes, the show challenges the artist's own later canonization and offers a fresh understanding of his contribution to postwar Italian art. The juxtaposition with Tirelli's work further underscores the ongoing relevance of these dialogues for contemporary painting.