The exhibitions to see in September in Italy

September has arrived. It's the month marking the end of vacations, the beginning of autumn, and the start of a new year (even more than January) filled with study, work, projects taking shape, and possibilities. But it's also the month when, returning to the city and our complicated lives, we seek something to do in our free time, ways to fill the daily grind with beauty. Every activity, from yoga to meditation, from a dinner with friends to a date with our crush is good, but the best choice is to visit one of the many exhibitions available in Italy right now. For environmentalists, there's a project on nature and utopia in Perugia; those who love color will find it in the works of Dietmar Brixy on display in Venice; and those with a restless soul will see themselves reflected in the retrospective dedicated to Edvard Munch in Milan. Here is a selection of the must-see exhibitions in Italy this September.

Mark di Suvero - Todi

On the occasion of the IV edition of the Festival of the Arts, the Fondazione Progetti Beverly Pepper, in collaboration with the Municipality of Todi, celebrates the talent of Mark di Suvero with Spacetime, a solo exhibition by the Italian-American artist, one of the most important living sculptors connected to the Abstract Expressionism generation and a reference point for environmental and public art. The exhibition begins in Piazza del Popolo with Neruda's Gate, an enormous red portal about 8 meters high, crossed by a long steel beam creating a dynamic effect. After admiring the large sculpture dedicated to the Chilean poet, the exhibition continues inside the Sala delle Pietre of Palazzo del Popolo. Here, until October 6, 2024, some large acrylic and phosphorescent paintings created between 2014 and 2022 are displayed.

Title: Spacetime

When: Until October 6, 2024

Where: Sala delle Pietre of Palazzo del Popolo, Todi

Mario Cresci - Ragusa

Mario Cresci is the protagonist of the Artist Residency at the Ragusa Foto Festival 2024. The Ligurian photographer spent an entire month in Ragusa, studying the prints and maps of Sicily collected in the Zipelli Collection of the Cesare and Doris Zipelli Foundation of the Banca Agricola Popolare di Ragusa. The interaction between the images of narrated places and those of real landscapes gave rise to a series of unpublished shots, collected in the exhibition Limen, soglia di passaggio and displayed at Palazzo Garofalo.

Title: Limen, soglia di passaggio

When: Until September 30, 2024

Where: Palazzo Garofalo, Ragusa

Alessandro Cardinale - San Gimignano

iSculpture, the first Contemporary Art Gallery dedicated exclusively to Italian Sculpture, hosts until September 20, 2024, See the Unseen, a series of unpublished works created by Alessandro Cardinale for the Nu Shu cycle, a name referring to the secret language of the Yao women, born as a tool of sisterhood, but also of resistance and emancipation from the patriarchal society that sought to subdue them. Just like the characters of that language, Cardinale's works reveal secrets. As art critic Anna Lisa Ghirardi explains, "The thin bars or slats of Cardinale's works reveal forms and messages only if observed from a specific angle, reminding us that even silence can find its voice. The multiplicity of perspectives reflects the possibility of exploring different realities and solutions."

Title: See the Unseen

When: Until September 20, 2024

Where: Galleria iSculpture, San Gimignano

Edvard Munch - Milan

Few artists have been able to interpret the torment and restlessness of the human condition like Edvard Munch, the subject of a monographic exhibition opening on September 14 at Palazzo Reale in Milan, in honor of the artist's 80th anniversary. This extensive retrospective will showcase the Norwegian painter's entire human and artistic journey through 100 works. Visitors will have the opportunity to see with their own eyes one of the lithographic versions of The Scream, as well as "the faceless figures, the otherworldly landscapes, the powerful use of color" in The Death of Marat, Starry Night, Girls on the Bridge, Melancholy, and Dance on the Beach. The exhibition will remain in Milan until January 26, 2025, after which it will have a second stop in Rome, at Palazzo Bonaparte, from February 12 to June 2, 2025.

Title: Munch. Il grido interiore

When: From September 14 to January 26, 2025

Where: Palazzo Reale, Milan

Talia Chetrit - Milan

In conjunction with Milan Fashion Week, 10 Corso Como celebrates the art of Talia Chetrit. This is the largest solo exhibition dedicated to the work of the American artist to date, who is also a successful fashion photographer (responsible for the lookbooks of Phoebe Philo's eponymous brand), and includes works created from 1994 to 2023. Chetrit embraces different genres and techniques: self-portraits, family scenes, still lifes, and street photography that explore themes of sexuality, power, relationships, and female self-representation. The result is a series of poetic and provocative images that combine emotional intensity with compositional qualities, making us question what it means to look and what it feels like to pose.

Title: Talia Chetrit

When: From September 18 to November 17, 2024

Where: 10 Corso Como, Milan

Dietmar Brixy - Venice

Travel and encounters with the diversity of foreign cultures have always been sources of inspiration for Dietmar Brixy. They were also for Marco Polo. The two meet virtually in the exhibition The Description of the World, a title referring to The Travels of Marco Polo, the work of the famous Venetian traveler, marking the 700th anniversary of his death. Brixy chooses to commemorate Polo through the union of his works with part of the collection of the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana in Venice, where the exhibition is held until September 21, 2024. The result is a contemporary and personal interpretation of the world, where the artist's vibrant kaleidoscopic colors and fantastic landscapes meet ancient globes, maps, and ceiling and wall paintings by Titian, Veronese, Tintoretto, and other Venetian Renaissance masters.

Title: The Description of the World

When: Until September 21, 2024

Where: Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, Venice

Antonio Ligabue - Sorrento

Those who love Antonio Ligabue should not miss the exhibition that Sorrento dedicates to the troubled artist. Held within the rooms of Villa Fiorentino, until November 16, the exhibition features 67 works created throughout his life. Visitors can admire various bronze sculptures and 52 of his famous oils, including some of the well-known melancholic self-portraits and nature-themed paintings, often depicting fierce animals, symbolizing an instinctive struggle for survival. Among the most interesting masterpieces are Ritratto di Elba, Testa di tigre, and Vedova nera.

Title: Antonio Ligabue a Sorrento

When: Until November 16, 2024

Where: Villa Fiorentino, Sorrento

Nairy Baghramian - Orani

Pratza 'e domo is an expression in Sardinia that refers to the transitional and undefined space in front of a house, often with a bench or chair where one can sit and observe the neighborhood life. This concept of a “homey square” is the basis of the exhibition, the first solo show in Italy by Nairy Baghramian, held until February 29, 2024, at the Nivola Museum in Orani. The installation, created for the occasion, interacts with the internal and external architecture of the museum and transforms its large spaces, encouraging people to sit and rest. Visitors will find large geometric sculptures of various colors and sizes inspired by anatomical prostheses and orthopedic supports, reflecting the works for which the artist is internationally known.

Title: Pratza 'e domo

When: Until February 29, 2024

Where: Nivola Museum, Orani

Eva Marisaldi - Venice

The themes of theater and the concept of representation, in general, have inspired Eva Marisaldi's latest project: transforming the Casa di Carlo Goldoni into a large multisensory installation. The exhibition route branches out from the portego of the palace to the rooms on the first floor, guiding visitors into the theatrical world, from the roots of Greek tragedy to contemporary expressions. The result is an immersive and engaging experience, made possible by sound creations, plastic works, and video pieces—a series of works created for the occasion by Marisaldi in collaboration with musician Enrico Serotti.

Title: Eva Marisaldi. Biribisso

When: Until November 24, 2024

Where: Casa di Carlo Goldoni, Venice

Natura/Utopia - Perugia

What would our relationship with the Earth be like if it were more sensitive and emotional? How would we interact with nature? These are just some of the questions posed by Nature/Utopia, the project curated by Caterina Tognon and promoted by the Association of Art and Social Culture Sibil, Società per Azioni Buone e Interventi Lunari. The starting point is a reinterpretation of humanity's approach to the environment through a selection of works by six women artists from different generations and geographies: Daniela De Lorenzo, Paola Margherita, the duo AuroraMeccanica, Yasmine Hugonnet, Sonia Leimer, and Pia Stadtbäumer. The exhibition at the Benedetta Raspini Gallery in Perugia offers the public the opportunity to reflect on their relationship with nature and, until October 7, 2024, also includes a program of performances and installations at the Chiostro di San Lorenzo.

Title: Nature/Utopia

When: Until October 7, 2024

Where: Benedetta Raspini Gallery and Chiostro di San Lorenzo, Perugia