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AUTUMN IS THE NEW SPRING. Events That Reignite the Debate
«Every subject was a lesson in life… I added art to it»
The retrospective on Luciano Fabro at HangarBicocca in Milan
Luciano Fabro, È la vita, è la storia, è la morale, 1995, Pirelli HangarBicocca Milano, 2026. Photo A. Osio.
In the fall of 1983, Luciano Fabro titled his inaugural lecture at the Brera Academy “What Is to Be Done?”: a provocation directed at those who had chosen to become artists - and, in doing so, to assume a critical responsibility toward their own time. Fabro considered teaching as a natural extension of his own research: «I am playful by nature, and I remain so until I step up to the lectern; I become playful again as soon as I step down,» he stated.
Luciano Fabro, Piede senile IV, 2000, Pirelli HangarBicocca Milano, 2026. Photo A. Osio.
This whirlwind of rigor, irony, and critical spirit is the centerpiece of the magnificent retrospective that recently opened at HangarBicocca in Milan. Here, every detail is an act of faith - and of loyalty - to Fabro’s creative process, beginning with the decision to recreate his historic installations, such as Habitat (Rotterdam), 1981, for which even the preparatory studies are made visible (the white lines on the floor, a projection of the golden ratio). The exhibition seems to stage, habitat after habitat, all the ideas that have challenged the canonical definition of sculpture: from Italiae to Feet, from the “cosmological” marbles to It's Life, It's History, It's Moral (1995).
The latter, at the end of the exhibition, attests to the disruptive power of Fabro’s “sculptural intuitions” and at the same time serves as a moral statement, alluding to - while simultaneously altering - Kant’s motto «the moral law within me, the starry sky above me».
Rather than simply occupying space, Fabro’s creations seem to put it to the test, questioning the very way in which we experience the world. In this sense, the professor and the artist converge: both ask the viewer not merely to look, but to take a stand.
Luciano Fabro. Inhabiting Space
October 8, 2026 - February 21, 2027
Curated by Fiammetta Griccioli, Roberta Tenconi, Vicente Todolí, Silvia Fabro
Via Chiese 2, Milan
Jannis Kounellis: I Am a Painter
Collezione Giancarlo e Danna Olgiati, Lugano
Installation view I Am a Painter, Collezione Giancarlo e Danna Olgiati, 2026.
«I am a painter» Jannis Kounellis liked to say. A statement that was anything but obvious for an artist who turned painting into a realm of constant transgressions, taking it beyond the canvas and relating it to everyday objects.
It is from this apparent paradox that I Am a Painter , curated by Vincenzo de Bellis, begins at Collezione Olgiati in Lugano. Kounellis never abandons the language of painting, but he pushes it to the extreme by radically reinventing its vocabulary. The first section of the exhibition already reveals this tension: a black square painted directly on the wall - a tribute to Malevich - is juxtaposed with panels from 1958 featuring store signs and numbers. The pictorial mark in its purest form encounters material life; reality enters the work, and painting begins to emerge from it.
Installation view I Am a Painter, Collezione Giancarlo e Danna Olgiati, 2026.
The conclusion of this journey presents an extreme outcome of this exploration—one that appears, at first glance, to be anti-pictorial: the 1988 installation composed of hundreds of glasses filled with grappa, whose sharp and persistent scent fills the room. The work is no longer merely something to be viewed; rather, it directly engages the viewer’s body, disrupting their almost anesthetized “museum pose.”
Jannis Kounellis. I Am a Painter
September 20, 2026 - January 17, 2027
Collezione Giancarlo e Danna Olgiati - MASI Lugano
Riva Caccia 1, Lugano
Marisa Merz. The Dance of the Hours
Castello di Rivoli, Fondazione Merz and GAM Turin in a major exhibition project
Marisa Merz. The Dance of the Hours
October 29, 2026 - April 4, 2027
Curated by Chiara Bertola, Sébastien Delot, Francesco Manacorda, Beatrice Merz, Chiara Parisi, Marianna Vecellio
Fondazione Merz - via Limone 24, Turin
«If a man asks me to do something, I do it my way. I’m not interested in power or a career; I’m only interested in myself and the world.»
Marisa Merz, Like a Statement, Bit #1, vol. 2, April 1968
In the 1960s, within an artistic and social context still firmly dominated by masculine logics of power and control, her voice emerged as a sort of brilliant anomaly within the system. The freedom of her thought is reflected in work that rejects any form of finality: carefully shaped yet never definitive works, which Tommaso Trini would describe as “prefigurements”—forms stripped of any notion of fixity. The critic describes her universe as a malleable ecosystem - “amorphous, multiform, nebulous” - a world “still in the making” (Domus, no. 454, September 1967), in tune with a historical moment - on the cusp of the revolutionary year of ’68 - perceived as open and unstable.
For Merz, there is a strong continuity between the exceptional nature of the creative sphere and the daily rituals of domestic life, her great source of inspiration—from little Beatrice’s games to her crochet work, a traditional attribute of the “housewife” that she would transform in a wholly personal way.
The first act of the exhibition Marisa Merz. The Dance of the Hours, at the GAM in Turin, takes shape around this continuity and aims to convey the idea of the home as an “alchemical laboratory.” At the Fondazione Merz and the Castello di Rivoli, however, the other two acts unfold. Respectively, the first venue focuses on Merz’s unique and unpredictable approach to creating his works: the choice of materials, the gesture, and the composition of that only seemingly precarious balance between copper wires, wax, fabrics, and everyday objects. Finally, at the last venue, the historic work E naufragar m’è dolce in questo mare (1980) - presented at Galleria Tucci Russi for the first time - is placed in dialogue with the work of female artists from different generations, openly affirming the delicate - yet incisive - relevance of Marisa Merz.
ART ON TRIAL. The Responsibilities of Art in the Contemporary World
Art for Better Wellbeing
Starting in September 2026, the INOC - National Oncology Institute of Candiolo - will permanently house an igloo by Mario Merz. The initiative, part of “Candiolo Cares,” aims to improve the quality of life for patients and their caregivers through non-traditional hospital-based approaches, beginning with art.
Conceived as an archetype of dwelling, the igloo finds new resonance in a healing environment, where the idea of refuge intertwines with the theme of human well-being. The project will also be documented in a catalog, presented at Artissima 2026.
Cecilia Paccagnella, “L'Arte Povera che cura”, Giornale dell’Arte
Art and Political Responsibility
Political responsibility, in its most radical sense, is the ability to respond to the call: to recognize that what is happening concerns us and not to take refuge in indifference. In Porta d’Europa (Lampedusa, 2008), Mimmo Paladino transforms this call into a tangible threshold, directed at those who arrive, those who wait, and those who watch. Back in the spotlight in the summer of 2026 - amid the papal visit and reports of alleged acts of vandalism - the work poses an uncomfortable question: faced with a door open to the world, who takes responsibility for answering it?
Art and Everyday Citizenship
In Turin, after years of inactivity, Mario Merz’s Igloo Fountain is back in operation. The work, created in 2002, is part of the “Artecittà. 11 Artists for the Passante Ferroviario” project, curated by Rudi Fuchs and Cristina Mundici, which was commissioned in 1995 by the city of Turin to accompany a large-scale urban renewal plan. In recent years, the fountain’s inactivity - due to the costs required for its maintenance - had sparked debate in Turin: what value should we place on the more cross-cutting aspects of city life, such as public art?
Valentina Muzi, Merz’s Igloo Fountain Reactivated, Artribune
Preserving the Autonomy of the Artistic Act
Pier Paolo Calzolari Receives the 2026 Seal of the Arts
In May 2026, Pier Paolo Calzolari received the Seal of the Arts from the Academy of Fine Arts in Urbino, along with the title of Honorary Academician, conferred by the Academy and the “Carlo Bo” University of Urbino. The award ceremony provided an opportunity for direct engagement with the younger generation: after the ceremony, Calzolari met with students from the Academy for a conversation titled “If the dreamer dies, what becomes of the dream?”.
This significant recognition comes during a particularly busy period for the artist, marked by new exhibition opportunities. In September, the exhibition Three Works at San Filippo, curated by Karine Marcelle Arneodo, brought Calzolari’s work to the Church of San Filippo in Fossombrone as part of Artopia 2026.
In October, Pier Paolo Calzolari: Selected Works, curated by Sergio Risaliti, opened the programming at 21Art’s new venue in Monte Carlo.
All these exhibition projects trace the artist’s exploration of “pauperism” - understood as the possibility of coexisting democratically with matter, in all its variety - and redefining it without ever falling into a deadly nostalgia for the past.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM TURIN
Landmark Acquisitions, New Publications
Fondazione Arte CRT
Lectures on the Fondazione Arte CRT. A Look at Contemporary Art: The Fondazione Arte CRT Collection, edited by Guido Curto, Allemandi, 2026.
In 1991, the Amato Law mandated the separation of banking activities from philanthropic endeavors. For the Cassa di Risparmio di Torino - which, until then, had been deeply committed to social issues - a need arose: to establish a strong organization dedicated to preserving cultural heritage and contributing to social welfare. Thus, the Fondazione CRT was founded, and in 1999, it established a dedicated branch focused solely on art. This branch found its foundational core in Mme Christian Stein’s Arte Povera collection. This marked the beginning of the journey for the Castello di Rivoli and the GAM in Turin, supported by the Foundation through an ongoing acquisition program.
The compelling story of the Fondazione Arte CRT collection is told in the new book A Look at the Contemporary, edited by G. Curto (Allemandi, 2026).
The Collection is a Living Entity
Castello di Rivoli
Installation view of Castello di Rivoli, work by Pier Paolo Calzolari. Courtesy Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, Rivoli-Torino. Pho.S. P. di Persano
Starting in October 2026, the Castello di Rivoli will present a groundbreaking exhibition of its Arte Povera collection, which takes on a new meaning: from objects to be preserved and dusted off to works to be exposed to the “shocks” of the contemporary world.
“Living Matter: A Journey Through Arte Povera” is a guided tour designed to provide a full understanding of the refined curatorial choices. For the first time, it highlights the movement’s key historical figures by dedicating a separate space to each: Giovanni Anselmo, Pier Paolo Calzolari, Mario Merz, Giulio Paolini, Giuseppe Penone, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Gilberto Zorio.
Piazza Mafalda di Savoia, Rivoli
Giulio Paolini: In Two Acts
Castello di Rivoli
Giulio Paolini: In Two Acts, 2026. View of Act I, Castello di Rivoli Museum of Contemporary Art. Photo Sebastiano Pellion di Persano.
The Castello di Rivoli presents an exhibition conceived entirely by Giulio Paolini, based on historical works (from 1962 to 1972) and created as a tribute to Gino Viliani, a passionate collector of his art. «Eight paintings, brought together here to demand attention and visibility, bear witness to the desire once expressed by the collector Gino Viliani to be displayed in a room conceived and arranged by their creator. Here I am, then, at work: each painting, already with its own exhibition history, now becomes part of a whole, a space specifically designed for this purpose,» states the artist.
Castello di Rivoli
Third Floor, Castello Building, Room 35
Piazza Mafalda di Savoia, Rivoli
ALL OUT BOETTI
Alighiero Boetti
Dia Art Foundation, Beacon (NY)
Alighiero Boetti, installation view, Dia Beacon, New York, 2026 . © Alighiero Boetti/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Ph. Bill Jacobson Studio, New York.
The Dia Art Foundation exhibition reinterprets Alighiero Boetti through a surprisingly timely question: What role can the artist play in a world marked by political upheaval, conflict, and global information flows?
These themes find intriguing intergenerational echoes in the works of Renée Green, On Kawara, and Sol LeWitt, presented in adjacent galleries, revealing unexpected points of connection with Boetti’s work.
Long-term exhibition
Tutto Boetti
Magazzino Italian Art, Cold Spring (NY)
Tutto Boetti 1966-1993 gallery installation. Courtesy of Magazzino Italian Art. Ph. Marco Anelli. © Alighiero Boetti by SIAE/ARS 2026.
The exhibition at Magazzino Italian Art traces, with remarkable curatorial rigor, the entire creative trajectory of Alighiero Boetti, from his early experiments in Turin in the 1960s to his works of full maturity. Through some thirty works drawn from the museum’s permanent collection and major loans, the exhibition traces the evolution of an artistic practice that made multiplicity, the construction of open systems, and the unresolved tension between order and disorder some of its founding principles.
April 26, 2026 – April 26, 2028
Alighiero Boetti
San Marco Art Center, Venice
Alighiero Boetti, SMAC Venice (San Marco Art Centre). Photo Nicolò Miana © Alighiero Boetti, 2026, DACS.
To coincide with the 2026 Venice Biennale, SMAC Venice is dedicating a major retrospective to Alighiero Boetti. The exhibition traces one of the most radical transformations in his practice: an artist’s role that was continually decentralized, divided between invention, execution, and delegation, culminating in his decision in 1972 to adopt the dual signature “Alighiero and Boetti. From the Biro works to the Embroideries, from the Maps to the Airplanes and the Calendars.
Rounding out the project is a catalog featuring extensive illustrations and critical essays by Elena Geuna and Hans Ulrich Obrist.
May 7 – November 22, 2026
The Other Side of Art
New Film, Exhibitions and Readings on Art Critics
What We Are Reading
Jannis Kounellis. I Am a Painter
Vincenzo de Bellis
Through a rich collection of images and essays by Vincenzo de Bellis and Bruno Corà, this volume explores some of the central themes of Jannis Kounellis’s work: the relationship between sign and matter, memory, the theatrical dimension of the artwork, and its engagement with history. From his early works based on letters, numbers, and symbols to his installations featuring coal, iron, wool, and everyday objects, a clear attempt emerges to radically expand the language of painting, transforming it into a tool capable of engaging with the human experience in all its complexity.
Mousse Publishing, 2026
Luciano Fabro. Drawings and Works
Ilaria Bernardi, Silvia Fabro
This volume, edited by Ilaria Bernardi and Silvia Fabro, explores Luciano Fabro’s lesser-known works on paper, which he developed in parallel with his research on sculpture and space from the 1960s until the artist’s death in 2007. Through a careful selection of works and critical analysis, the authors offer a new perspective: reinterpreting Fabro’s graphic work not as a marginal activity or an autonomous practice, but as an integral part of his artistic journey.
Archivio Luciano e Carla Fabro, 2026
Rivolta Italia
Giacinto Di Pietrantonio
A reinterpretation of Italian art as a field of tensions, ruptures, and stances, in which works reflect societal changes and challenge its values. More than a mere historical reconstruction, it is an invitation to rethink the relationship between Luciano Fabro’s artistic practice and the country’s cultural identity.
Johan&Levi, 2026
Italian Female Filmmakers 60s/70s
C. Subrizi, P. Ugolini, M. Alicata
A study of the work of Italian female filmmakers who, between the 1960s and 1970s, experimented with alternative narrative styles and forms, often on the fringes of official historiography. The book brings to light various experiences - including that of Marisa Merz - showing how cinema has become a space for aesthetic exploration and the redefinition of the gaze.
Lenz Press, 2026
Artist's Case
M. Pistoletto, R. Pio
This collection contains two complementary writings on the thought of Michelangelo Pistoletto: on the one hand, the artist’s own formulation of a project capable of connecting art and social transformation; on the other, a dialogue with Ruggero Pio on the generative possibilities of chance. The edition consists of 300 copies, each signed and numbered by hand by Pistoletto.
Cittadellarte Edizioni 2026
Tommaso Trini
Daniela Domina, Iolanda Ratti
Published on the occasion of the exhibition of the same name, Tommaso Trini: The Earth Seen from the Moon outlines the key features of Trini’s attentive and forward-looking perspective. This collection of the critic’s writings, insights, and essays highlights the strong connection between artistic transformations and the political, social, and cultural tensions of the time.
Silvana Editoriale, 2026
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