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Giulio Paolini's 'Fine' at Galleria Christian Stein, Milan

exhibition · 2026-05-05

Giulio Paolini's exhibition titled 'Fine' (The End) has launched at two locations of Galleria Christian Stein in Milan, under the curation of Bettina Della Casa. Rather than signaling a conclusion, the show represents a revitalized artistic endeavor. At Palazzo Cicogna, the installation 'Fine' incorporates autobiographical aspects in a fragmented collection inspired by Watteau's 'The Embarkation for Cythera' (1717), encouraging viewers to delve into Beauty and Poetry through a suspended Wunderkammer. Meanwhile, the Pero site displays large-scale artworks, each revealed by a red curtain. Paolini remarks, 'No one is capable of 'making art'... A work must forget its author.' The exhibition wraps up with reflections on precariousness and Schopenhauer's ideas, highlighting perception and observation.

Key facts

  • Giulio Paolini's solo exhibition 'Fine' is curated by Bettina Della Casa.
  • The exhibition is held at Galleria Christian Stein's two Milan locations: Palazzo Cicogna and Pero.
  • The installation 'Fine' at Palazzo Cicogna is a site-specific work inspired by Watteau's 'The Embarkation for Cythera'.
  • The work includes a floating Wunderkammer of objects, works, and tools representing Paolini's aesthetic journey.
  • At the Pero venue, large-scale works create mental pathways with dramatic sequences.
  • The work 'Hic et nunc' (1991) references Géricault's 'The Raft of the Medusa'.
  • Paolini's statement: 'No one is capable of making art because the work itself accesses the secret and immutable cipher of its own existence.'
  • The exhibition explores themes of voyage, absence, silence, and the impossibility of conclusion.

Entities

Artists

  • Giulio Paolini
  • Jean-Antoine Watteau
  • Théodore Géricault
  • Arthur Schopenhauer
  • Bettina Della Casa

Institutions

  • Galleria Christian Stein
  • Palazzo Cicogna
  • Artribune

Locations

  • Milan
  • Italy
  • Genoa
  • Pero

Sources