By Rebecca Ceccatelli and Kristine Urban. Cover image: © Alessandro Messina, Cosmo, 2023.
Topic of today: art exhibitions in Florence. As we approach the year 2024, many are making New Year’s resolutions with the hope of creating a better future right after the festive season of Christmas, often filled with gift-giving and celebrations. During this busy time, it is common to neglect our personal interests and hobbies by prioritising other activities. However, reclaiming lost time for self-care and pursuing our passions can be one of the goals for the upcoming year.
It is no coincidence that even you, art lovers of Florence, may have missed some of the city’s best exhibitions in the past months. That’s why we are here to remind you of the art exhibitions in Florence that will end in the early months of 2024. Scroll through the deadlines and make sure to visit before they end!
Start with one of art exhibitions in Florence of Alessandro Messina: Cosmo @ Rifugio Digitale
From 11th to 21st of January
Rifugio Digitale is hosting an exhibition by photographer Alessandro Messina. The exhibition focuses on absence in life and aims to capture the essence of places, spaces, and people we encounter daily. Messina’s shots are introspective and reflective, representing his sensitivity towards the distance between man and the objects around him. He calls this approach the “anti-portrait,” which he achieves through the photographic medium. In his debut exhibition, Cosmo, Messina uses abstract messages to convey feelings that cannot be deciphered through words alone.
Museo della Moda e del Costume @ Palazzo Pitti
From December 12th
It is an honor to mention that the Museo della Moda e del Costume in Palazzo Pitti has reopened its doors to the public. The gallery has been closed for three years due to the pandemic and the need for restoration of the exhibited garments. However, the Permanent Collection: The Twentieth Century is now available for the public to explore. The gallery displays a range of beautiful garments, such as the iconic dress ‘La Primavera’ by Rosa Genoni and a Delphos gown by Mariano Fortuny. The fourth floor of Palazzo Pitti has new rooms and a fresh display waiting to be discovered.
Untill spring art exhibitions in Florence: Lara-Vinca Masini and La memoria del futuro @ Centro Pecci
From October 27th to April 7th
To celebrate the 100th birth anniversary of the Florentine artist, the Pecci Centre in Prato inaugurates an exhibition dedicated to her memory, just a few kilometres away from her birthplace. Drawing from the artist’s extensive archive-library, created, curated, and expanded by her throughout her career, an exhibition is presented to honour her masterpiece, now donated and part of the Luigi Pecci Collection.
The exhibition path takes on a circular form, with Masini as a central figure. It unfolds through thematic sections that focus on her interests and studies. The exhibition highlights the artistic personalities on whom Masini focused her attention, aiming to give value to the mind of this non-academic intellectual of the 20th century. La memoria del futuro places the past as a constant catalyst for the future.
A wider vision with Olivo Barbieri: Pensieri Diversi @ Villa Bardini
From November 7th to February 11th
Photographer Olivo Barbieri is sensitive to the theme of the perception of reality and explores it through a series of perceptual experiments in his art, exploring the theme of the city, everyday life, and transformation. In his exhibition Pensieri Diversi (Different Thoughts) at Villa Bardini, he showcases 50 photographs covering 20 years of research, investigating the relationship between the world and its continuous and distressing metamorphosis – a plastic world in constant and contradictory movement, narrated with a clear and stern gaze. Barbieri uses site-specific shots and 3D models to guide the bird’s-eye view of the spectator through the vibrant colours of a fleeting reality, inviting them to question what they have in front of their eyes. Through his art, he encourages us to think differently – pensieri diversi – about the world and its transformation.
Claudio Parmiggiani and Abel Herrero: Viaggio di Luce @ Palazzo Medici Riccardi
From October 27th to January 21st
Claudio Parmiggiani and Abel Herrero have never had a joint exhibition before. Yet Viaggio di Luce brings these two artists’ works together, creating a visual continuity between them. Parmiggiani’s vividly pigmented sand filling four drifting boats complements the chromatic saturation of Herrero’s silent yet bold ocean paintings. Together, these two artists assess beauty and reshape the space’s dynamic through a connection with the temporal and the physical. The exhibition’s use of colour and escapism captures the essence of light and an otherworldly wanderlust.
