TRAGICOMICA. Perspectives on Italian art from the mid-20th century to today

MAXXI, Rome

Tragicomica brings together over 300 works to explore the ironic element that runs through Italian culture, which the philosopher Giorgio Agamben defined as a “stubborn anti-tragic intention” (Categorie italiane, 1996). The exhibition spans over eighty years, from the post-war period to the present day, focusing on artists, more than 130 Italian artists, who have made this tension between the tragic and the comic the centre of their poetics and their view of the world. 

The project at MAXXI is made in collaboration with Centre d’Art Contemporain Genève and it is accompanied by a catalogue published by Marsilio Edizioni.