Exhibitions
A complete journey through the art of modern dreams in Milan with Metafisica / Metafisiche
The city of Milan is hosting one of the most ambitious cultural projects of recent years: Metafísica / Metafísicas , a large-scale collaborative exhibition curated by Vincenzo Trione that transforms the city into an expanded exhibition system. Between January 28 and June 21, 2026, the project articulates a multifaceted narrative across three major institutions—Palazzo Reale, Museo del Novecento, Gallerie d'Italia, and Grande Brera (Palazzo Citterio)—connected by an urban itinerary of approximately 2,000 steps between Piazza Duomo and Brera.
The project's centerpiece is the major exhibition at Palazzo Reale, which brings together some 400 works from over 150 international institutions. Paintings, sculptures, drawings, photographs, design objects, architectural models, magazines, comics, audiovisual material, and even sound recordings form a visual constellation that reconstructs the birth, development, and expansion of metaphysical thought. From the founders of the Ferrara group—Giorgio de Chirico, Alberto Savinio, Carlo Carrà, Filippo de Pisis, and Giorgio Morandi—to European and American artists who reinterpreted their legacy, the exhibition traces an aesthetic genealogy that extends to the present day.
The exhibition expands its scope to include disciplines such as architecture, film, theater, fashion, literature, music, and design, underscoring the influence of metaphysical sensibility on contemporary visual culture. Among the associated names are figures such as René Magritte, Max Ernst, Salvador Dalí, and Andy Warhol, as well as later artists like Mimmo Paladino, Giulio Paolini, Jannis Kounellis, and Francesco Vezzoli. References are also made to architects such as Aldo Rossi, Gio Ponti, Paolo Portoghesi, and Frank Gehry; photographers such as Mimmo Jodice and Gabriele Basilico; designers such as Giorgio Armani and Fendi; and filmmakers such as Paolo Sorrentino and Tim Burton, in addition to musical echoes in groups like Genesis and Pink Floyd.
Giorgio de Chirico, Enigma of the game, 1930; Mamiano di Traversetolo (Parma) Fondazione Magnani-Rocca) © Giorgio de Chirico, by SIAE 2026.
At the Museo del Novecento, the chapter titled Milano Metafisica explores the relationship between movement and the city. Through some 50 works, including drawings, models, dresses, photographs, and archival documents, the exhibition reconstructs the presence of de Chirico, Savinio, and Carrà in Milan and their dialogue with local cultural institutions. The exhibition also includes ten drawings by Mimmo Paladino, inspired by Savinio's literary work Ascolto il tuo cuore, città (I Listen to Your Heart, City) .
For its part, the Gallerie d'Italia proposes a tribute to Giorgio Morandi through the photographic gaze of Gianni Berengo Gardin, focused on the painter's studio in Bologna, underlining the intimate and silent dimension of his artistic practice.
Finally, at the Grande Brera (Palazzo Citterio), the artist William Kentridge presents an installation dedicated to Morandi that reflects on time, memory and rhythm as visual materials, reinforcing the contemporary reading of the metaphysical legacy.
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