Natalia Goncharova Retrospective at Palazzo Strozzi, Florence

Palazzo Strozzi in Florence hosts a major exhibition on Natal'ja Sergeevna Gončarova (1881–1962), the Russian avant-garde artist who was the first woman to exhibit female nudes, anticipated Marina Abramović in body art, collaborated with the Ballets Russes, and was associated with the Blaue Reiter. The show highlights her neoprimitivism, blending modernist techniques with Russian folklore and religious imagery. Gončarova's skepticism toward industrialization is evident in works like 'Fabbrica (futurista)' (1912), contrasting with Italian Futurists like Balla and Boccioni. She co-founded Rayonism with Mikhail Larionov and, after 1917, lived in Paris, designing costumes for Diaghilev's Ballets Russes that evoked Russian legends. The exhibition runs through 2019.