Mario Schifano retrospective at Palazzo Esposizioni in Rome links his early work to Marco Tirelli

Palazzo Esposizioni in Rome presents a major retrospective of Mario Schifano (Homs, 1934 – Rome, 1998), running from March 17 to July 12, 2026, curated by Daniela Lancioni. The exhibition is paired with a solo show by Marco Tirelli titled "Anni Luce." The two exhibitions are interconnected through theoretical and visual references, notably the recurring presence of Kazimir Malevich. Schifano's monochromes from 1960 are presented as layered, vulnerable surfaces that retain traces of the world, challenging pure abstraction. The show notably includes works from before 1960—landscapes from 1956 and informal studies from 1959—a period often excluded from Schifano's official catalogue raisonné (edited by Monica De Bei Schifano and Marco Meneguzzo), which the artist himself wanted to begin in 1960. Lancioni's curatorial choice reintegrates these early pieces, revealing the monochromes as the outcome of a gradual linguistic sedimentation. The exhibition highlights Schifano's dialogue with historical avant-gardes and with Giuseppe Uncini, sharing experimentation with cement and material structure. A key work, "Chiamato K. Malewič" (1965), serves as a conceptual hinge between the two shows, questioning the survival of Suprematism in the age of technical reproducibility. Tirelli's black paintings act as a perceptual threshold, echoing Schifano's exploration of the image's condition of possibility.