palazzo strozzi exhibits 70+ works by maurizio cattelan, cindy sherman, damien hirst & more

Reaching for the stars in contemporary art

Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi leads its recent exhibition Reaching for the Stars with thought-provoking works from leading contemporary artists including Maurizio Cattelan, Cindy Sherman, Damien Hirst, Anish Kapoor, Sarah Lucas, Adrián Villar Rojas, Pawel Althamer, Lara Favaretto, William Kentridge, Berlinde De Bruyckere, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, and many more. The show, which runs from March 4th to June 18th, 2023, explores contemporary art today through the more than 70 works selected and displayed from the Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Collection.

images courtesy of Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi | photos © Ela Bialkowska OKNO studio

Reaching for the Stars brings forth the changes that the arts field has experienced over the past decades through a constellation of artworks that graces every space in Palazzo Strozzi, from the Piano Nobile to the Strozzina. Curated by Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi Director General Arturo Galansino, the exhibition doubles as a celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Collection, one of the world’s most prestigious collections of contemporary art.

The exhibition swings between painting, sculpture, installations, photography, videos, and performance art to visually converse with the visitors and guide them on a journey of discovery in contemporary art in recent decades. Experimentative themes come into play such as identity and the body, the relationship between the figurative and the abstract, the juxtaposition of history with more intimate personal stories, and individuality and the community.

Maurizio Cattelan, La rivoluzione siamo noi, 2000

Palazzo Strozzi on hosting fundamental works

Reaching for the Stars at Palazzo Strozzi in Florence hosts fundamental works such as Anish Kapoor’s 1000 Names (1983) and Damien Hirst’s Love Is Great (1994) alongside an extensive selection of work by Maurizio Cattelan, Paola Pivi, and Lara Favaretto, among others. The exhibition is divided into themed sections, and one of them spotlights Cindy Sherman’s celebrated series Untitled Film Still (1978-80), which prompts a social and political reflection on the theme of identity.

It relates to works by Shirin Neshat, Barbara Kruger’s silkscreen print Untitled (Not ugly enough) (1997), and Pawel Althamer’s organic material sculpture Self-Portrait (1993). Sculpture exploration broadens to include enormous pieces by Andra Ursuţa, Adrian Villar Rosa, Berlinde De Bruyckere, and Mark Manders, whose work analyzes the body and the figure through deconstruction and reassembly. The exhibition is the result of a project based on the desire to pair up timeless bodies of work with new ones created specifically for the exhibition to continue the dialogue of moving contemporary art forward.

A journey of research in contemporary art

Arturo Galansino, Director of the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi and curator of the exhibition says that Reaching for the Stars journeys through 30 years of discovery and research in contemporary art. ‘Hosting a collection like this in Florence means celebrating the values of patronage and of commissioning in the city where great collecting was born. The collaboration between Palazzo Strozzi and the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo goes beyond the mere exhibition of works, but is a synergy of values, a shared platform in which to stimulate accessibility, participation, and experimentation,’ he says.

Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, president of the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, regards the exhibition as a time to remember. ‘Celebrating thirty years of my collecting practice in this building, a masterpiece of Renaissance architecture is an opportunity to retrace the paths of contemporary art in recent decades, creating a lively dialogue with the ancient and contemporary which I’m delighted to open up to the visiting public,’ she says. ‘This exhibition, which begins in the splendid courtyard open to the city, reflects the value of sharing that has always marked my collection and finds full harmony with the line of the Palazzo Strozzi Foundation.’

Reaching for the Stars exhibition

with Barbara Kruger, Untitled (Not ugly enough), 1997 and Pawel Althamer, Self-Portrait, 1993

inside the exhibition

with Shirin Neshat, Faceless from Women of Allah Series, 1994 and Pawel Althamer, Self-Portrait, 1993

with Thomas Schütte, Nixe, 2021

Maurizio Cattelan, La rivoluzione siamo noi (detail), 2000 | image courtesy of Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo

1/6

 

 

 

 

 

 

project info:

name: Reaching for the Stars

collaboration: Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo

curator: Arturo Galansino

exhibition: Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi

location: Piazza Strozzi, Florence, Italy

dates: March 4th to June 18th, 2023