Tabish Khan the @LondonArtCritic picks his Top 5 Exhibitions and Museums to see in Milan. Each one comes with a concise review to help you decide whether it’s for you.
Pino Pascali @ Fondazione Prada, Milan
If you’ve never heard of Pino Pascali then you’re not alone, I hadn’t either until I came across this show. He died young and was very productive for his short career, creating everything from installations to fluffy spider beings and weapons made from found items as a commentary on the ever-presence and horrors of war. It’s also housed within the beautiful Rem Koolhaas-designed Fondazione Prada and don’t forget to pop into the Wes Anderson-designed bar before you leave. Until 23rd September.
If you love Old Masters then the chance to see Caravaggio’s Supper at Emmaus (pictured above) is worth the admission price alone. Throw in dozens of masterpieces including phenomenal works by Veronese, Tintoretto and a fantastic Mantegna painting of a dead Christ from the perspective of being at his feet and you’re in Renaissance heaven. If you get a chance then also pop into the Pinacoteca di Ambrosiano which has one of only two known Caravaggio still lifes and an original Raphael cartoon.
Nari Ward: Ground Break @ Pirelli HangarBicocca
Walk through a netted installation and follow the smell of salted fish into a greenhouse, before ending up in a sunshine yellow room on happiness in this diverse exhibition of Nari Ward’s work that addresses issues such as identity, race, social justice, and consumer culture. All housed in the cavernous massive hangar space at this foundation. Next door in the second hangar they have an impressive permanent display of towers and paintings by Anselm Kiefer and you know a space is big when even Kiefer’s works are dwarfed within it. Until 28th July.
The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci
How can you visit Milan and pass up the opportunity to visit one of the most talked about art masterpieces in the world? Be aware that you have to book well in advance and in my case I could only find a tour in Italian, but it mattered not as having the chance to spend a good 20 minutes with this famous artwork was worth it.
This is a great example of a museum that mixes historical artefacts with contemporary artworks and it has a changing programme. When I visited the bronze works of Giuseppe Penone fitting in perfectly among early Etruscan artefacts, in the exhibition titled Vulci (until 4th August) a piece by Andy Warhol references the historical friezes and vases that it’s displayed among. All housed within a building that has brilliant and varying architecture across its floors.
Pino Pascali photo Roberto Marossi, Courtesy Fondazione Prada. All other images copyright and courtesy respective artist and gallery. Fondazione Luigi Rovati image – © Daniele Portanome for Fondazione Luigi Rovati.
