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León Ferrari's centenary retrospective 'La Bondadosa Crueldad' tours Europe through 2022

exhibition · 2026-04-23

On September 3, 2020, the centenary of León Ferrari, the Argentine artist (1920-2013), was commemorated with the European tour of his retrospective exhibition titled 'La Bondadosa Crueldad'. This exhibition commenced on December 15, 2020, at Madrid's Museo Reina Sofía, showcasing seven rooms dedicated to his artwork. Following Madrid, it will be displayed at the Van Abbe Museum in Eindhoven from May 8 to September 26, 2021, before concluding at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris in August 2022. The collection features the provocative 1965 work 'La Civilización Occidental y Cristiana', currently in the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Argentina, along with unpublished documents and was highlighted at the 34th Bienal de São Paulo with his literary collage 'Palabras Ajenas' (1965-1967).

Key facts

  • León Ferrari's centenary was September 3, 2020.
  • Retrospective 'La Bondadosa Crueldad' tours Europe from December 2020 to August 2022.
  • Exhibition opens at Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid on December 15, 2020.
  • Travels to Van Abbe Museum in Eindhoven from May 8 to September 26, 2021.
  • Concludes at Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris in August 2022.
  • Includes controversial 1965 piece 'La Civilización Occidental y Cristiana'.
  • Work critiques Vietnam War and was withdrawn before exhibition.
  • Ferrari's centenary also marked by 34th Bienal de São Paulo with 'Palabras Ajenas'.

Entities

Artists

  • León Ferrari
  • Leonor Amarante
  • Ernesto Ramallo
  • Rafael Alberti
  • Ariel Ferrari
  • Rubén Guzmán
  • Lyndon B. Johnson
  • Robert McNamara
  • Pope Paul VI
  • Adolf Hitler
  • Andrea Giunta
  • Regina Silveira
  • Julio Plaza
  • Carmela Gross
  • Alex Flemming
  • Marcelo Nietsche
  • Hudinilson
  • Lisette Lagnado
  • Eduardo Simões

Institutions

  • Museo Reina Sofía
  • Van Abbe Museum
  • Centre Georges Pompidou
  • Fundación Augusto y León Ferrari-Arte y Acervo
  • Instituto Di Tella
  • Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes
  • Festival de Cinema Independente de Buenos Aires
  • 34ª Bienal de São Paulo
  • Arts Lab
  • Teatro Larrañaga
  • REDCAT
  • Museo Jumex
  • Van Abbemuseum
  • MASP
  • Galeria Nara Roesler
  • Centre Pompidou

Locations

  • Madrid
  • Spain
  • Eindhoven
  • Netherlands
  • Paris
  • France
  • Argentina
  • Brasil
  • Vietnam
  • London
  • United Kingdom
  • Buenos Aires
  • Los Angeles
  • United States
  • Mexico City
  • Mexico
  • São Paulo
  • Brazil
  • Porto Feliz
  • Milan
  • Italy

Sources