Mario Schifano

Organised by the Department of Culture of Roma Capitale and Azienda Speciale Palaexpo, and curated by Daniela Lancioni, the exhibition at Palazzo Esposizioni is a tribute to one of the most iconic and beloved figures of 20th-century visual culture.

The exhibition’s anthological approach captures the complexity of Mario Schifano’s work and his non-ideological connection with the contemporary world, offering an in-depth exploration of the life and work of this great Roman artist. The over 100 masterpieces on display (drawn from Italian and international public and private collections, including a selection from the Intesa Sanpaolo art collection) bear witness to the exuberant regeneration of his pictorial research. They show his inventions, his experiments and his constant metamorphoses: from the informal and material works of the 1950s to the monochromes, from the new iconographies mediated by the language of photography and themes from art history to TV landscapes and the moving image, from works resulting from the fusion of photography and painting to the most recent paintings of explicit social commitment.

The exhibition itinerary winds its way through the rotunda and the seven large halls on the main floor of Palazzo Esposizioni, where, following the customary biographical introduction accompanied by fine-art photographs and documents, the works are arranged in chronological order, from his early pieces through to those of the 1990s, highlighting themes, formal choices, techniques and creative approaches. Where possible, the works are grouped according to the artist’s habit of painting in homogeneous series, creating a dialogue between the uniqueness of the theme and entirely autonomous variations.

A program of screenings, talks, tours and workshops accompanies the exhibition experience.

Cover: Interno di una casa romana (detail), 1968, Private collection, Photo by Giorgio Benni