From 4 March until 18 June 2023 the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi and the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo are coming together to celebrate some of the luminaries of contemporary art in the exhibition Reaching for the Stars. From Maurizio Cattelan to Lynette Yiadom Boakye. Over 70 works by leading Italian and international contemporary artists including Maurizio Cattelan, Cindy Sherman, Damien Hirst, Lara Favaretto, William Kentridge, Berlinde De Bruyckere, Sarah Lucas and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye celebrating the Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Collection’s 30th anniversary, one of the world’s most celebrated and prestigious collections of contemporary art.
Curated by Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi Director General Arturo Galansino, Reaching for the Stars explores the most important strains in art through a constellation of artworks on display in every space in Palazzo Strozzi. The exhibition uses painting, sculpture, installations, photography, videos, and performance art to enhance the dialogue between Palazzo Strozzi and contemporary art, offering visitors a journey of discovery among the stars of global art in recent decades.
Reaching for the Stars: the exhibition
Through the eyes of over 50 artists from all over the world, the exhibition sets out to provide visitors with an opportunity to reflect on the present and future of art, openly showcasing its variety, its evolution, and its relationship with contemporary society.
Reaching for the Stars involves and invades every space of Palazzo Strozzi, from the Piano Nobile to the Strozzina and the palazzo’s Renaissance courtyard. Here it’s hosted GONOGO, a new installation by the artist Goshka Macuga in the shape of a monumental space rocket beckoning visitors to embark on a journey with infinite layers of meaning.
The exhibition includes major works by British artists such as Damien Hirst, Anish Kapoor, and Sarah Lucas alongside a substantial selection of works by Maurizio Cattelan, an artist whose work is crucial to any understanding of contemporary Italian art, together with work by such artists as Paola Pivi and Lara Favaretto. In parallel, the exhibition unfolds among sections exploring identity, the body and contemporary myths, addressing such issues as fragility and alienation, racial and gender discrimination and the relationship between the community and the individual, with iconic works by artists such as Cindy Sherman, Barbara Kruger, Pawel Althamer and Shirin Neshat.
A platform for experimentation and participation
Reaching for the Stars is the result of a project based on the creation of a platform for experimentation and participation. The display of the collection’s artworks pairs up with new works created especially for the exhibition and with a broad programme of activities for the public, reflecting the ongoing work of the Collection to move debates in contemporary art forward.
The exhibition is promoted and organised by the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi and the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo. Main Supporter: Fondazione CR Firenze. Supporters: Comune di Firenze, Regione Toscana, Camera di Commercio di Firenze, Intesa Sanpaolo, Palazzo Strozzi Partners Committee. With the contribution of Città Metropolitana di Firenze. With the support of Maria Manetti Shrem. With the support of Gruppo Beyfin S.p.A.
Cover: Maurizio Cattelan, La rivoluzione siamo noi (detail), 2000. Courtesy Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo.
