Activities carried out

The activities of the Fondazione Hillary Merkus Recordati lie at the heart of its support for contemporary creativity, working closely with the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi in Florence, contributing to scheduled exhibitions and, more broadly, to the Palazzo Strozzi Future Art project. Launched in 2021, this project is dedicated to the production and promotion of contemporary art through the commissioning of new works and the creation of initiatives dedicated to new generations of Italian and international artists.

Worth noting among the initiatives carried out is JR. LA FERITA (19 March-29 August 2021), a site-specific installation for the façade of Palazzo Strozzi the image of which became one of the most viral works globally in 2021, as well as ALTER EVA. Natura Potere Corpo- Nature Power Body (28 October-12 December 2021), an exhibition dedicated to 6 Italian women artists under 40 years of age held in the Strozzina spaces of Palazzo Strozzi, and Let's Get Digital! (May 18-July 31, 2022) on the NFT art revolution and the new frontiers between real and digital, Olafur Eliasson: Nel tuo tempo (September 22, 2022 - January 29, 2023), Reaching for the stars. Da Maurizio Cattelan a Lynette Yiadom- Boakye (March 4 - June 18, 2023), Yan-Pei Ming. Pittore di storie (July 7 - September 3, 2023), Anish Kapoor. Untrue. Unreal (October 7, 2023 - February 4, 2024) and Anselm Kiefer. Angeli caduti (March 22 - July 28, 2024).

Andy Bianchedi, together with Arturo Galansino, the artists of the exhibition "Alter Eva. Natura Potere Corpo" exhibition and several members of the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi staff.

In primo piano

Anselm Kiefer. Fallen Angels

22.03.2024 - 28.07.2024

In Spring 2024, Palazzo Strozzi hosted a major exhibition dedicated to one of the greatest masters of the 20th and 21st century art, Anselm Kiefer. Renowned for his impactful works that explore themes of memory, myth, war, and existence through painting, sculpture, and installation, Kiefer presented historical works and new productions at Palazzo Strozzi, engaging in a unique dialogue with the Renaissance architecture.

Anish Kapoor. Untrue Unreal

07.10.2023 - 04.02.2024

Starting from October 7, 2023 Palazzo Strozzi in Florence is pleased to announce a new major exhibition devised and produced with Anish Kapoor, celebrated artist who has revolutionised the notion of sculpture in contemporary art. Curated by Arturo Galansino, Director General of the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi, the show will feature monumental installations, intimate environments and thought-provoking forms that will forge an original and captivating dialogue with the architecture and audience of Palazzo Strozzi.

Yan Pei-Ming. Painter histories

07.07.2023 - 03.09.2023

From 7 July to 3 September 2023 Palazzo Strozzi hosts Yan Pei-Ming, Painting Histories, the largest exhibition ever devoted to this Franco-Chinese artist in Italy and part of the Palazzo Strozzi Future Art project developed in partnership with the Fondazione Hillary Merkus Recordati. Renowned for a profound and passionate reflection on painting in today’s art, Yan Pei-Ming combines history and contemporaneity, famous works of art, public figures and intimate subjects in his monumental canvases.

Reaching for the Stars. From Maurizio Cattelan to Lynette Yiadom-Boakye

04.03.2023 - 18.06.2023

From 4 March 2023 Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi hosts the exhibition entitled Reaching for the Stars. From Maurizio Cattelan to Lynette Yiadom-Boakye showcasing major works by such leading international contemporary artists as Maurizio Cattelan, Sarah Lucas, Damien Hirst, Lara Favaretto, Cindy Sherman, William Kentridge, Berlinde De Bruyckere, Josh Kline, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, Rudolf Stingel to celebrate in Florence the 30th anniversary of the Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Collection, one of the most famous and prestigious collections of contemporary art in Italy.

Olafur Eliasson: Nel tuo tempo

22.09.2022 - 22.01.2023

Starting 22 September 2022 the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi hosted Olafur Eliasson: Nel tuo tempo, the largest exhibition in Italy to date exploring the art of Olafur Eliasson. One of the most original and visionary artists of our time, Eliasson’s multifaceted practice placed the visitor at the heart of his reflection on the notion of shared experience and interaction with reality.

Let's Get Digital!

18.05.2022 - 31.07.2022

From May 18 to July 31, 2022, Palazzo Strozzi presented Let's Get Digital!, a new exhibition project that brought to the spaces of the Strozzina and the courtyard the art revolution of NFTs and the new frontiers between real and digital through the works of international artists such as Refik Anadol, Anyma, Daniel Arsham, Beeple, Krista Kim and Andrés Reisinger.

Alter Eva. Natura Potere Corpo

28.10.2021 - 12.12.2021

Amidst sculptures, paintings, photography and installations, the ALTER EVA exhibition featured the works of six Italian artists: Camilla Alberti, Irene Coppola, Martina Melilli, Margherita Moscardini, Marta Roberti, and Silvia Rosi, stimulating, from a female point of view, a reflection on the future founded on new principles of natural and social cohabitation.

JR. La Ferita

19.03.2021 - 22.08.2021

One of the world's most famous contemporary artists, JR was asked to reinterpret the façade of a symbol of the Renaissance in Florence with a new work curated by Arturo Galansino (general director, Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi), who proposed a reflection on the accessibility of cultural sites in the age of the Covid-19 virus.