As part of the initiatives marking the celebrations for the 79th Italian Republic Day, the Consulate General of Italy in London is organising – in collaboration with the Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art, the artist’s archive, and Tornabuoni Art Gallery – the first institutional exhibition in the United Kingdom entirely dedicated to Maestro Claudio Parmiggiani, a pioneering figure in contemporary Italian art.
The exhibition – accompanied by an illustrated catalogue – will be open to the public at the Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art from 28 May to 31 August 2025 and available online at www.estorickcollection.com.
Featuring a selection of works created over the past fifty years, the exhibition highlights the artist’s distinctive exploration of themes such as memory, absence, and silence, in his “quest for an image, object, or assemblage that transcends time and individual experience to evoke a universal and existential truth”.
In the aftermath of the Second World War, during a time of crisis for traditional figurative art, Parmiggiani developed a deeply personal and remarkably innovative visual language. His unique approach established him as a key figure, redefining artistic expression through an introspective and singular lens. At the heart of the exhibition are the Delocazioni (“displacements”) – works that use smoke and soot to create ghostly impressions of objects such as bottles, books, and human figures. First conceived in the 1970s, this technique has become one of the most emblematic of his artistic career.
The exhibition features both monumental pieces and more intimate works from this iconic series, revealing the scorched remains of a library, windows, and other recurring motifs in Parmiggiani’s output. Recalling film stills yet rendered in a more fragile and evocative manner, these contemplative works serve as poetic meditations on memory.
Through the organisation of this prestigious exhibition dedicated to Claudio Parmiggiani, the Consulate General of Italy in London continues its mission to promote modern and contemporary Italian art in the United Kingdom.
