This winter, Milan reaffirms its role as a capital of art, offering a packed calendar of unmissable exhibitions ranging from contemporary art to the great masters of the past. Site-specific installations, retrospectives, and previously unseen works make the colder months the perfect time to immerse yourself in art. Here is a selection of the most exciting events to mark on your calendar for a winter full of culture.
Niki De Saint Phalle
MUDEC – Museum of Cultures – October 5, 2024 – February 16, 2025
The Franco-American artist, renowned for her Tarot Garden in Tuscany, is celebrated at MUDEC – Museum of Cultures with 110 works that chronicle her artistic journey. A painter, sculptor, experimental filmmaker, and former model, Niki De Saint Phalle is a multifaceted artist waiting to be discovered.
Archiviale_001
Museo del ‘900 – April 14, 2024 – January 12, 2025
ARCHIVIALE_001 is the first exploration of the history of Milan’s private galleries from the 1940s to today. The exhibition highlights artistic choices, international connections, avant-garde events, and interactions with artists that have shaped the city’s cultural scene. Promoted by the Milano Art Community—a network of Milan’s leading galleries and institutions—the project is hosted in the Archivi del Novecento on the 4th floor of Museo del ‘900.
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Marcello Maloberti. Metal Panic
PAC – Pavilion of Contemporary Art – November 27, 2024 – February 9, 2025
A tribute to Milan, a city that has deeply influenced Marcello Maloberti’s artistic practice, based on the interplay between art and life through diverse visual and sonic languages. METAL PANIC, curated by Diego Sileo, unfolds like an artist’s book, weaving together the central themes of Maloberti’s work: the sanctity of the everyday, the urban landscape in transformation, and the poetry of the written word. The exhibition, featuring works from the 1990s to today, is presented as an evolving construction site, suspended between memory and possibility.
Adrian Paci. Il vostro cielo fu mare, il vostro mare fu cielo
MUDEC – Museum of Cultures – November 27, 2024 – September 21, 2025
A site-specific installation that serves as a prelude to the exhibition Travelogue. Stories of Journeys, Migrations, and Diasporas (March 2025). The work transforms the agora with a blue-green mosaic inspired by the sea: each fragment of this composition comes from photographs featured in articles on migrant shipwrecks in the Mediterranean. Curated by Katya Inozemtseva and Sara Rizzo.
Gae Aulenti (1927–2012)
Triennale Milano – Until January 12, 2025
A comprehensive retrospective dedicated to Gae Aulenti, one of the most influential figures in contemporary architecture and design. Over six decades, the versatile designer explored numerous fields, from urban planning to exhibition design, landscape architecture to interiors, furniture design to graphics, and even theater set design.
Jean Tinguely
Pirelli HangarBicocca – October 10, 2024 – February 2, 2025
The most extensive retrospective held in Italy since the passing of Jean Tinguely, one of the 20th century’s pioneering artists who revolutionized the very concept of art. A major figure in kinetic art, Tinguely’s exhibition unfolds as a single visual and sonic choreography, featuring works of various sizes, including monumental pieces that highlight his dynamic, sound-based, and chromatic expressiveness.