Ottonella Mocellin - Nicola Pellegrini | The Wall Between Us

'Typologien' is an extensive survey dedicated to 20th century German photography. The project, hosted in the Podium, the central space of the Milan venue, is curated by Susanne Pfeffer, art historian and director of the MUSEUM MMK FÜR MODERNE KUNST in Frankfurt. The project applies the principle of ‘typology’, born in the 17th and 18th centuries in botany to classify and study plants, developed by photography from the beginning of the 20th century and established in German photography during the 20th century. Paradoxically, the proposed formal principle makes it possible to establish unexpected analogies between German artists of different generations and at the same time reveal individual approaches to photography.  

• Fondazione Prada
• LARGO ISARCO, 2 20139 MILANO
• 3 aprile – 14 luglio 2025

De Bello. Notes on War and Peace is the first group exhibition by Gres Art 671 — a journey through wars and conflicts, seen as a cycle that repeats over time, a phenomenon that spans eras, places, and civilizations, leaving deep marks in the collective memory.An experiential exploration of the human condition during the universal phases of conflict, regardless of historical or geographical context.

• gres art 671, Bergamo
• Via S. Bernardino, 141, 24126 Bergamo BG
• 16 aprile – 12 ottobre 2025

“When spring arrives, the male beetle locates a trunk in which to breed, enters under the bark and starts “writing”: the bark beetle’s Latin name is Ips typographus, the typographical beetle, precisely because it digs tunnels inside the tree trunk that look like typographical marks. Due to the rise in average temperature, compared to pre-industrial levels (1850-1900), trees have suffered water stress due to drought and extreme weather events have increased. Since 2018, also due to Storm Vaia, perfect conditions have been created for the bark beetle to proliferate, and especially in recent years, it has gone from being an insect that attacked dead trees to an insect that also attacks living trees in excellent condition. In the case of this project, frottages were performed on the trunks of several beech trees that had lived in the Valentino Park in Turin for nearly a century. The drought and high temperatures of 2021/22 caused severe stress to the point of death of several trees that were subsequently attacked by the bark beetle. Between August and September 2023 these plants were first dissected and then uprooted. Before explantation, I was able to record through the frottage technique the marks created by the bark beetle on 6 different trees. Each work is developed on three plates: the first one shows the development of the circumference of the trunk of the whole pattern that the insects have created under the bark; the second one shows inner surface of the bark that covers and protects the trunk; the third one, on the other hand, is related to the section of the trunk: the saw cut no longer allows us to read the memory of the tree and its surroundings because the rings are no longer visible. The work, then, is presented as a large glass photographic plate, on which the saw marks are silkscreened with a color created by the ash of their bark.” Michele Guido.

• 7022
• Via Lodovico il Moro 1, Milan
• 8 aprile – 14 giugno 2025

From March 21 to May 25 Palazzo Abatellis in Palermo will host the exhibition “Minuto Mantenimento” by Marzia Migliora, curated by Elisa Fulco and Antonio Leone. The exhibition, supported by the Regional Department for Cultural Heritage and Sicilian Identity, promoted by the Regional Gallery Palazzo Abatellis, and produced by ruber.contemporanea, is the result of a series of workshops held in 2024 by the artist as part of the Spazio Acrobazie project. The exhibition presents for the first time a series of previously unseen works born from the meetings and exchanges with the external penal execution group.

• Palazzo Abatellis
• Via Alloro 4, Palermo, Sicily
• 21 marzo – 25 maggio 2025

Gary Hill will speak about his latest works on March 12, 2025, at 6:00 PM and will discuss key questions of his artistic practice with the curators of the exhibition Gary Hill. A Question of Perception, Holger Broeker and Elena Engelbrechter. Gary Hill’s works have significantly influenced video art since the 1970s, placing image, language, and sound in new contexts. In his lecture, Gary Hill will provide insights into his current projects, particularly his experimental use of camera drones to reflect on his own creative process. The subsequent discussion will offer an opportunity to engage in direct dialogue with the artist.

• Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg
• 12 marzo 2025

The Padiglione d'Arte Contemporanea in Milan presents the first major solo exhibition in Italy of Iranian artist Shirin Neshat (1957, Qazvin), winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale in 1999, the Silver Lion for Best Director at the Venice Film Festival in 2009, and the Praemium Imperiale in Tokyo in 2017. The exhibition traces over thirty years of her career through nearly two hundred photographic works and a dozen video installations, now part of major museum collections worldwide, including the Whitney Museum, MoMA, the Guggenheim in New York, and Tate Modern. Neshat interprets history and contemporary issues—not only of her home country, Iran, but of the world—through the lens of women. From her early 1990s "Women of Allah" series, featuring female bodies inscribed with poetic calligraphy, to "The Fury", a video installation that foreshadowed the "Woman, Life, Freedom" movement, her work explores complex narratives. However, her research goes beyond gender issues, using the duality of men and women as a starting point to examine themes of belonging and exile, health and mental distress, dream and reality. Curated by Diego Sileo and Beatrice Benedetti.

• PAC, Milano
• Via Palestro 14
• 28 marzo – 8 giugno 2025