The permanent collection

The Collection consists of several hundred works of art that date from 1945 to the present, of which something more than two hundred are on permanent display as an in-depth presentation of a number of the central artistic tendencies, both Italian and international, of the second half of the 20^th century. It consists primarily of paintings but it also holds sculptures and installations. The artists are represented by significant works from their early careers, and thus by examples of the ways in which their work first brought elements of true innovation into the research of contemporary art.

The permanent collection begins with a number of important European paintings that represent the abstract-expressionist movements of the Fifties, generally known as art informel, and there is also a group of proto-conceptual Italian works. It continues with an important selection of the works of the “Roman School” of Pop Art, and then with a considerable number of Arte Povera works. These sections of the Collection are followed in turn by various fundamental works from the area of Italian neo-expressionism (Transavanguardia), works of German and American neo-expressionism, as well as by a significant and considerable group of works of the American New Geometry. In 2019, on the occasion of Rehang, the last rooms on the second floor of the permanent exhibition have been rehung to present a selection of the projects shown during the first ten years of activity.

Most of the Collection’s 21^st century works have not been included in the permanent exhibition, and are presented in theme-based shows in the ground-floor spaces for temporary exhibitions. The Collection is itself a “work in progress” and will continue in the future to document the novel paths that the further evolution of contemporary art continues to explore.