From the exhibition on Niki de Saint Phalle to the retrospective dedicated to Dubuffet and Art Brut, passing through the Argentine artist, performer and activist for LGBTQ+ rights La Chola Poblete and photography: the Mudec – Museum of Cultures in Milan is preparing to an autumn full of exhibition projects. The programming of the last quarter of 2024, starting in September, will focus on the therapeutic, social and political power of artistic practice. THE ART OF NIKI DE SAINT PHALLE ON EXHIBITION IN MILAN From next October 5th to February 16th 2025, the institution Milanese brings to the city over 100 works by the French-American artist Niki de Saint Phalle, author of the original and evocative Tarot Garden in Tuscany. Painter and sculptor, director and performer, the author of Nanas was a multifaceted figure, spokesperson for the feminist battles of her era; her production embodied the political and artistic ferment of the 1960s and 1970s. Curated by art critic Lucia Pesapane, the exhibition project – created in collaboration with the Niki Charitable Art Foundation – pays homage to his eclecticism with a heterogeneous selection which includes, among others, a sculpture set up in the external courtyard, some large-scale works , shots and clothes from the Maison Dior for which the artist was a model. MUDEC CELEBRATES ART BRUT AND DUBUFFET Almost in parallel, from 12 October to 16 February 2025, Dubuffet and Art Brut will open their doors at Mudec. The art of outsiders. Celebrating the revolutionary vision of the Parisian artistic movement and its creator Jean Dubuffet, the exhibition brings together over 70 works from the Collection de l’Art Brut in Lausanne, among which the magnificent compositions of Aloïse Corbaz and Adolf Wölfli, the sculptures of Émile Ratier and the paintings of Carlo Zinelli. Curated by Sarah Lombardi and Anic Zanzi, the exhibition is divided into four sections, which investigate the raw and unconventional language of this expressive trend. In the first space a corpus of works and documents outlines the historical context of Art Brut, while in the second a selection of works explores the broad intellectual research of Dubuffet, who was an artist, but also a writer and collector. Finally, the third and fourth chapters delve into the themes of the body and recurring beliefs in the artistic genre, activating a specific connection with the Mudec collections. PHOTOGRAPHY AND CONTEMPORARY ART IN THE AUTUMN OF MUDEC The program continues with the appointment of the Deutsche Bank Prize Artist of the Year: This year’s winner, La Chola Poblete, presents her solo show Guaymallén, a reflection on the legacy of colonization and practices of resistance. From 13 September to 20 October the Argentine artist and activist transforms the museum into a religious and erotic space, an expression of feminist, indigenous and queer struggles. Finally, from 7 November to 15 December, the Deloitte Photo Grant photographic exhibition returns, dedicated to established and emerging artists. Instead, we will have to wait until March 2025 to visit Travelogue: the exhibition that promises to reread the Mudec’s ethnographic collections through objects linked to travel, be it material, ritual, mythical or diasporic.[Immagine in apertura: Niki de Saint Phalle à Soisy-sur-École, avril 1983. ©️ Photo Leonardo Bezzola]
