Exhibitions to see in April 2026 in Italy From Andrea Pazienza’s iconic comics in Rome to red-carpet fashion in Trieste
April in Italy has always been a borderline month: it’s no longer winter, not yet summer, but the desire to escape, go out, and open up to the world, culturally as well, is already at peak season. Cities stretch like springs, calendars fill up, exhibitions multiply, and the public divides between devotion and cultural FOMO. Among the many events this month, it’s worth noting that from April 9 to June 2, 2026, EXPOSED Torino Photo Festival returns to Turin with the theme Getting Naked, while Milan Design Week 2026 (April 21–26) confirms its status as a global liturgy of design, spanning Salone del Mobile and Fuorisalone. Two magnetic poles, two different ways of reading the contemporary, balanced between introspection and spectacle, identity and surface. In between lies a constellation of exhibitions that deserve more than a passing glance.
Exhibitions to see in April 2026 in Italy
The architecture of the red carpet - Trieste
In Trieste, at ITS Arcademy, the exhibition EXPOSURE – The Power of Being Seen reflects on the contemporary fashion system and its relationship with mechanisms of global visibility. Curated by Tom Eerebout, the show uses the red carpet as a symbolic space where public identities are constructed. For this reason, outfits worn by figures such as Harry Styles, Lady Gaga, and Beyoncé are presented as the result of a complex process involving stylists, designers, and narrative strategies. The exhibition also highlights tensions between major fashion houses and independent designers, showing how a single appearance can generate immediate visibility but also systemic pressure. Featuring outfits worn on the red carpet by Nicole Kidman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Madonna, Charli XCX, and Chappell Roan, and created by brands such as Gucci, Maison Margiela, Jean Paul Gaultier, Dolce & Gabbana, and Ann Demeulemeester, the show becomes an investigation into image construction in the age of platforms and algorithms.
Title: EXPOSURE – The Power of Being Seen, from Harry Styles to Lady Gaga
When: until January 3, 2027
Where: ITS Arcademy – Museum of Art in Fashion, Trieste
Francesca Woodman - Rome
At Gagosian, from April 29 to July 31, 2026, the exhibition dedicated to Francesca Woodman explores the dialogue between photography and Surrealism, highlighting the complexity of an artistic practice developed over just a few years but with extraordinary intensity. Around 50 works (many previously unseen) reveal a sophisticated use of composition and staging, in which the body appears as an unstable element, constantly redefined in relation to space and objects. Mirrors, reflective surfaces, and everyday objects become tools to alter perception, multiply viewpoints, and challenge the idea of a unified identity. In an age obsessed with perfect representation, the notion that the image can also be a site of crisis is a radical lesson. The Italian influence on the artist’s formation also emerges as a significant element, not only biographically but culturally. Visitors will encounter not only an exceptional artist, but also a layered reading of conceptual photography, capable of intertwining autobiography, theory, and imagination.
Title: Francesca Woodman. Lately I Find a Sliver of Mirror Is Simply to Slice an Eyelid
When: April 29 – July 31, 2026
Where: Gagosian Rome, Rome
Parthenope - Naples
In Naples, Parthenope. The Siren and the City constructs a layered narrative intertwining myth, history, and contemporary representation. The figure of the siren Parthenope becomes a narrative device through which to read the city, not so much as a physical place but as a symbolic construction. The exhibition spans eras and languages, bringing together archaeological artifacts, artworks, and contemporary interpretations. The result is a reflection on cultural identity and the ability of myths to survive through transformation. Naples emerges as a complex narrative space, where past and present coexist seamlessly, and where mythology continues to shape the contemporary gaze.
Title: Parthenope. The Siren and the City.
When: April 3 – July 6, 2026
Where: MANN – National Archaeological Museum of Naples, Naples
Andrea Branzi - Milan
At Triennale Milano, the major retrospective Andrea Branzi by Toyo Ito. Continuous Present is one of those exhibitions you don’t simply visit, you move through it. Designed by Toyo Ito, the exhibition unfolds as a continuous flow reflecting the complexity of the designer’s work: a living organism of connections, drifts, and returns. Over 400 works, including the iconic No-Stop City project, narrate a vision that anticipated everything from diffuse cities to design as ecology, to objects as mediators between human and non-human. Here, the concept of Italian design is reinterpreted as an interdisciplinary practice, crossing architecture, art, and philosophy. By the end, the exhibition reveals a design thinking that remains strikingly relevant, highlighting continuity between past intuitions and contemporary urgencies. Suddenly the present - our present - feels like something Branzi had already foreseen.
Title: Andrea Branzi by Toyo Ito. Continuous Present
When: until October 4, 2026
Where: Triennale Milano, Milan
Ruth Orkin - Bologna
At Palazzo Pallavicini, the retrospective dedicated to Ruth Orkin offers an important opportunity to reassess the photographer’s role in 20th-century photography. The 187 images on display reveal a visual language capable of integrating cinematic elements (her mother was silent film actress Mary Ruby), constructing sequences that suggest movement and narrative. From travel photography to portraits of celebrities such as Marlon Brando and Alfred Hitchcock, there is a consistent focus on the human dimension and visual storytelling. The iconic shot American Girl in Italy becomes emblematic of this ability, encapsulating social tensions, gender dynamics, and the construction of the gaze in a single image. The exhibition also highlights the challenges Orkin faced in a male-dominated professional context, restoring her as a central figure in the evolution of photographic language.
Title: Ruth Orkin – The Illusion of Time
When: until July 19, 2026
Where: Palazzo Pallavicini, Bologna
Georg Baselitz - Florence
At Museo Novecento, the exhibition dedicated to Georg Baselitz focuses on graphic art and printmaking, the less explored dimension of his production, revealing an artist obsessed with process rather than result. Around 170 works allow us to read his research as a continuous process of transformation, where the artistic gesture becomes a tool of rupture. His iconic upside-down figures, for example, are a strategy to destabilize automatic perception. The goal? To make looking an active, almost effortful act. Because art should not reassure, it should disorient. Florence, with its layered history, becomes the perfect setting for this short circuit between tradition and disruption.
Title: Georg Baselitz. AVANTI!
When: until October 4, 2026
Where: Museo Novecento, Florence
Hannah Levy - Orani
With Blue Blooded, Museo Nivola introduces Hannah Levy’s work to Italy, presenting an investigation into the relationship between art and nature through sculpture. Inspired by the horseshoe crab, the works combine industrial materials and organic forms, creating objects that oscillate between attraction and unease. The reference to the creature’s blue blood, used in medical contexts, introduces an ethical dimension tied to the exploitation of natural resources. The installation interacts with the museum’s architectural space, transforming it into an immersive environment where sculptures appear as autonomous presences. The result is a reflection on ecosystem fragility and the complexity of human–non-human relationships..
Title: Hannah Levy. Blue Blooded
When: until July 12, 2026
Where: Museo Nivola, Orani (NU)
Andrea Pazienza - Rome
On May 23, Andrea Pazienza would have turned 70, and MAXXI celebrates with two anthological exhibitions exploring different aspects of the legendary artist’s work. The first, at MAXXI L’Aquila until April 6, 2026, focuses on his formative years and early career. The second, running from April 24 to September 27, 2026 at MAXXI Rome, examines the relationship between word and image. Through a vast body of panels, drawings, and previously unseen materials, the project highlights the diversity of Pazienza’s graphic style, from precise lines to more instinctive, experimental strokes. Above all, it shows how his iconic characters, from Pentothal to Zanardi, function as tools for reading reality, blending irony and social critique. The exhibition restores the vitality of an author who anticipated contemporary languages and sensibilities, establishing him as a central figure in Italian comics. A highlight is the focus on preparatory materials, offering insight into his constantly evolving creative process.
Title: Andrea Pazienza. Non sempre si muore
When: April 24 – September 27, 2026
Where: MAXXI, National Museum of 21st Century Arts, Rome
San Francesco - Perugia
At Palazzo Baldeschi in Perugia, the exhibition dedicated to Saint Francis of Assisi proposes a dialogue between contemporary art and spirituality, marking the 800th anniversary of his death. The exhibition brings together works by artists such as Alberto Burri and Michelangelo Pistoletto, creating a comparison between different languages and shared themes such as nature, fragility, and sacredness. Its guiding thread is a non-agiographic approach, avoiding celebration in favor of a critical reading of Franciscan legacy. The result is a reflection on art and spirituality that connects past and present through works questioning the meaning of the sacred in contemporary times.
Title: SAN FRANCESCO - Nostro contemporaneo. Arte e Spiritualità da Burri a Pistoletto
When: April 18 – November 1, 2026
Where: Palazzo Baldeschi, Perugia
Bruce Gilden - Brescia
Between the Museo di Santa Giulia and the Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo, the exhibition dedicated to Bruce Gilden represents the artist’s first major Italian retrospective. The project revolves around the Faces series, in which the photographer uses flash and extreme proximity to create highly impactful images. This direct and often disorienting approach isolates the subject and highlights every detail, offering an intense vision of the human condition. The exhibition also includes a site-specific installation reinterpreting the concept of grace in dialogue with Raphael. Gilden’s work thus becomes part of a broader reflection on street photography as a practice capable of revealing social tensions and the fragility of contemporary existence.
Title: Bruce Gilden. A closer look
When: until August 23, 2026
Where: Museo di Santa Giulia and Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo, Brescia
