Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Turns 30 with Overwhelming Group Show

To mark its thirtieth anniversary, the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo in Turin has launched 'News from the Near Future,' a sprawling exhibition spread across its headquarters and the Museo Nazionale dell'Automobile (MAUTO). The show assembles over 150 works from the collection, including pieces by Cindy Sherman, Doug Aitken, Philippe Parreno, Fiona Tan, Ed Atkins, Paul McCarthy, Matthew Barney, Mike Kelley, Barbara Kruger, and Rachel Whiteread, some never exhibited before. Curated into three thematic sections—body, identity, and possible futures—the exhibition aims to create a visual and affective archive of the foundation's history. However, the density of works results in a perceptual overload, lacking rhythm and narrative coherence. A notable clash occurs between Ed Atkins's 'Safe Conduct' (2016) and Paul McCarthy's 'Bang-Bang Room' (1992), where competing soundscapes cancel each other out. At MAUTO, the open-plan layout amplifies dispersion, reducing the experience to a sequence of isolated encounters. The exception is 'Convergenze,' curated by Giacinto Di Pietrantonio, which integrates Sandretto works with the MAUTO permanent collection, offering a coherent dialogue between art and automotive culture. The review criticizes the exhibition for trying to say everything and ending up saying too much, forgetting the power of empty space.