The exhibitions to see in April in Italy

With spring comes the desire for something new, to dedicate oneself to new hobbies and activities that enrich our world. And what could be better than immersing oneself in art, discovering past and contemporary works and talents of which we only know the name or of which we are unaware of their existence? Throughout Italy in the month of April, there are options for every taste, from those who love photography to those who appreciate visual arts. In Milan, there's a major exhibition dedicated to tattoos, Jesi is the right place to take a virtual journey into the life of actress Virna Lisi, in Catania the protagonist is a visual and sound installation about Pantelleria created by the duo Kg Augenstern, while in Venice you can admire 150 works by Jean Cocteau.

Here are the exhibitions to see in Italy in April.

Armin Boehm - Milan

"The painted surface is as vulnerable as our skin, and looking at it directly affects our emotional system very directly". Armin Boehm said this in an interview with Gaston La-Gaffe on FAD Magazine talking about his art. If you want to discover more about the poetic universe of the German artist, the place to be is the Francesca Minini gallery in Milan, where, until May 11, 2024, nine large-format canvases will be exhibited, constructed with complex combinations of materials and a skillful use of color and light. His most famous works are inspired by current events, such as the protests in the square during the G8 summit in Genoa, and translate into fictitious scenes, mysterious nighttime realities, and urban layouts that reflect the unconscious and emotions of the human being.

Title: Armin Boehm. Et les yeux pour me dire

When: from April 3 to May 11, 2024

Where: Francesca Minini gallery, Milan

Mangano & Marieke van Rooy - Rome

Domenico Mangano & Marieke van Rooy question the concept of the sacred, of copying, and reproducing reality, wondering what is fake and what is true. The duo seeks to answer these questions through ceramic and bronze sculptures, wall drawings, videos, and performances exhibited until May 18, 2024, at the Magazzino spaces in Rome. Among the highlights of the event, there is a new animated sculptural installation, made of underground upheavals, holes, tunnels, and disturbing scenarios. The inspiration is an underground and imaginary world, in which concepts of archaic and modern coincide.

Title: Do you want to be my faded copy?

When: until May 18, 2024

Where: Magazzino, Rome

Tattoo - Milan

The tattoo is much more than a symbol etched on our skin. It is one of the oldest forms of artistic expression that has been narrating humanity for centuries, taking on different forms, meanings, and functions over time. The Mudec Museum in Milan retraces the history of tattooing, investigating the phenomenon from a historical, anthropological, and cultural perspective, starting from prehistory and reaching to the present day with a particular focus on the Mediterranean region. Through objects, historical artifacts, video installations, engravings, prints, and reproductions of photographs, visitors can have an immersive experience and discover everything they previously ignored on the subject.

Title: Tattoo. Stories from the Mediterranean

When: until July 28, 2024

Where: Mudec - Museum of Cultures, Milan

Jean Cocteau - Venice

From April 13 to September 16, 2024, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice presents a major retrospective dedicated to Jean Cocteau. Through more than 150 works, from prestigious international museum collections, ranging from drawings to graphic works, from historical documents to magazines, from photographs to films directed by Cocteau himself, the exhibition traces the development of the aesthetic of the multifaceted artist and revisits the highlights of his career. It's a unique opportunity to discover everything about the enfant terrible of the French artistic scene of the 20th century.

Title: Jean Cocteau. The Juggler's Revenge

When: from April 13 to September 16, 2024

Where: Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice

Virna Lisi - Jesi

Jesi, her hometown and the place where she spent her childhood, celebrates Virna Lisi with an exhibition at Palazzo Bisaccioni, open until May 5, 2024. Starting from her beginnings in the 1950s, through the 1960s and up to the period of her artistic maturity, the exhibition reconstructs the entire life of the diva, through the films that made her internationally famous, but also through the most intimate and private moments. It's a true emotional journey into the past, into Lisi's daily life, an icon of Italian cinema who, despite being highly sought after by all international directors, gave up Hollywood to preserve her family life, her relationship with her husband, producer Franco Pesci, and their son Corrado.

Title: Virna Lisi. Diva and Anti-Diva

When: until May 5, 2024

Where: Palazzo Bisaccioni, Jesi

David Bowes - Turin

Turin explores the art of David Bowes along two lines: painting, with a series of portraits and metaphysical scenarios inspired by painted ex-voto tablets, and installation, a sort of "theatres" where everyday concrete objects coexist with others inserted in extraordinary contexts. It's an opportunity to discover one of the American artists who first brought figurative painting back into the so-called avant-garde galleries. The exhibition is held at Galleria In Arco until June 29, 2024.

Title: David Bowes. Love Saves the Day

When: until June 29, 2024

Where: Galleria In Arco, Turin

Kg Augenstern - Catania

Kg Augenstern is a Berlin-based artistic duo composed of Christiane Prehn and Wolfgang Meyer who spent two months on the island of Pantelleria to explore and measure, thanks to special high-sensitivity sensors, the electromagnetic fields of its territory. Prehn and Meyer consider them to be a kind of language that Pantelleria uses to express its volcanic character. The exhibition at BOCS in Catania, visible until April 14, 2024, by appointment, presents the results of the research focused on the earth's magnetic force and its influences in a visual and sound installation.

Title: Knocking on Heaven's Door

When: until April 14, 2024

Where: BOCS, Catania

Andreas Steinbrecher - Naples

The Shazar Gallery in Naples hosts until May 15, 2024, the first solo exhibition dedicated to Andreas Steinbrecher. At the heart of the exhibition are canvases with indefinite forms featuring surreal landscapes populated by solitary creatures and elements. Visitors are taken on a strange and fascinating journey reminiscent at times of the romantic poetry of the works of Caspar David Friedrich. Are you ready to immerse yourself in the colorful and complex world of Steinbrecher?

Title: ALBA

When: until May 15, 2024

Where: Shazar Gallery, Naples

Laura Grisi - Rome

Kinetic art, Pop Art, American minimalism, Arte Povera, Laura Grisi's work cannot be categorized into a single category or movement. In an attempt to understand her poetic, a new exhibition in Rome juxtaposes seven major works by the artist created using different media - sound, painting, video, and luminous installations - with those of contemporary artists such as Leonor Antunes, Nancy Holt, and Liliane Lijn. It's an opportunity to try to understand her reflections on the perception of images and the tensions between nature and artifice.

Title: Laura Grisi, Cosmogonies

When: until August 25, 2024

Where: MACRO - Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome, Rome

Dolce&Gabbana - Milan

More than an exhibition, From the Heart to the Hands: Dolce&Gabbana, visitable from April 7 to July 31 at Palazzo Reale in Milan, is an open love letter to Italian culture, which has inspired the creative process of Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana since its origins. It's a journey behind the scenes of their work that reveals the secrets behind Dolce & Gabbana's prestigious Alta Moda collections: from genesis to creation in the final garment. Fashion lovers will also have the opportunity to see some creations up close, which will be exhibited within the show.

Title: From the Heart to the Hands: Dolce&Gabbana

When: from April 7 to July 31, 2024

Where: Palazzo Reale, Milan