Maurizio Cattelan's Shocking Sculptures Take Over Milan Art Week

During Milan Art Week 2022, Maurizio Cattelan (born Padua, 1960) unveils two thought-provoking pieces. At the Massimo De Carlo gallery, the hyperrealistic sculpture YOU (2021) features the artist himself suspended from the ceiling of Casa Corbellini-Wasserman's bathroom, a first for this location. Crafted from platinum silicone, epoxy fiberglass, stainless steel, real hair, clothing, hemp rope, and flowers (140 × 40 × 25 cm), this work revisits Cattelan's recurring motif of hanged figures, reminiscent of the three children in Piazza XXIV Maggio, Milan. YOU will be displayed until June 25, 2022. Simultaneously, the Monumental Cemetery hosts Ninna Nanna (March 30 to November 6, 2022), showcasing Lullaby, created from debris of the 1993 mafia bombing in via Palestro that claimed five lives and devastated the Padiglione d'Arte Contemporanea (designed by Ignazio Gardella). This rubble, retrieved from a landfill, was initially shown in London (Laure Genillard Gallery) and Paris (Musée d'Art Moderne) in 1994. The Milan installation, sourced from Paris, features 40 white plastic bags on two pallets. After the exhibition, Cattelan plans to gift the piece to the city, incorporating it into the Museo del Novecento's permanent collection. Culture councilor Tommaso Sacchi highlighted the significance of memory, while Cattelan remarked on how objects facilitate remembrance and affirmed that the rubble is part of Milan's history.