California Dreaming
The myth of California explored through art from the 1960s to the present day: from David Hockney, James Turrell and Judy Chicago to Sadie Barnette, Patrick Martinez and Refik Anadol
From 20 March to 25 July 2027, the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi presents California Dreaming, a major exhibition dedicated to California through works by artists from the 1960s to the present day. The exhibition explores the appeal and contradictions of a place that has become a symbol of modernity and success, poised between myth and reality, utopia and disillusionment.
The exhibition creates an intergenerational dialogue between historic figures and contemporary voices, bringing together artists who were born or have worked in California, or whose practice is deeply connected to its cultural context. David Hockney, James Turrell, Judy Chicago, John Baldessari, Ed Ruscha, Mike Kelley and Catherine Opie are presented in dialogue with leading figures from the contemporary art scene, including Sadie Barnette, Alex Israel, Patrick Martinez, Lauren Halsey and Refik Anadol.
The exhibition explores California’s many different imaginaries: hedonism and political activism, popular culture and new technologies, car culture and vast natural and urban landscapes, individualism and the diversity of its communities and identities. Featuring loans from international museums and collections alongside new works produced for the occasion, California Dreaming brings together paintings, sculptures, photographs, videos and installations, transforming the whole of Palazzo Strozzi into a single exhibition project extending across the Piano Nobile, Courtyard and Project Space.
Curated by Arturo Galansino, Director General of Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi, California Dreaming is co-organised with the Manetti Shrem Museum of Art in Davis, California, where a newly conceived version of the exhibition, curated by Susie Kantor, Museum Associate Curator, will be presented in autumn 2027.