A bank vault typically holds riches, keepsakes and wonders. However, the vault of the former Banca Commerciale Italiana, which once held immensely valuable items, is particularly special. In the place of the old deposit boxes are 500 paintings belonging to the Gallerie d’Italia Collection. A large exhibition hall, designed in the early years of the last century by Milanese architect Luca Beltrami and then revisited by Michele De Lucchi, also holds two hefty doric columns. The stairway, the balustrade of the walkway and the wrought iron features recall the motifs of the balustrade of the grand stairwell on the upper floor, making the design particularly harmonious. The works of art - from Balla to Carrà, from Severini to Picasso - for which there was simply no space on the upper floor, have been hung on an intricate and highly-secure system of rolling panels which allow for these works to be seen while offering their absolute protection, creating a unique viewing experience as well.
Atoui explores the acoustic properties and specific ways in which elements such as bronze, water, glass and stone transmit and reflect sound. Using electronic instruments and custom-built computers, the artist reflects on current social and political realities.
After more than 30 years, Palazzo Reale returns to celebrate the originality of the great Italian artist Felice Casorati with the first retrospective hosted in Milan since the 1990 exhibition.
Neshat creates highly lyrical narratives, as well as politically charged visions, that question issues of power, religion, race, and the relationships between past and present, East and West, individual and collective.