First Italian Retrospective of Arshile Gorky at Ca' Pesaro, Venice

Ca' Pesaro in Venice will host the first Italian retrospective of Arshile Gorky, a pivotal figure in 20th-century American art and Abstract Expressionism, ahead of the Venice Biennale. The exhibition brings together 80 works on loan from major international museums, including Tate London, National Gallery of Art Washington DC, Whitney Museum of American Art New York, Centre Pompidou Paris, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza Madrid, and Israel Museum Jerusalem. It traces Gorky's career from his early 1920s works influenced by Cézanne, through his self-taught study of modern masters, to his mature phase where diverse influences coalesced into a singular vision. Surrealist poet André Breton described this vision as 'hybrid,' acknowledging Gorky's complex evocation of nature intertwined with personal memories and varied influences. Gorky was born in 1904 in Lake Van, Ottoman Anatolia (modern Turkey), and died in 1948 in Sherman, Connecticut. His work influenced many artists, including Willem de Kooning.