Lia Rumma Gallery is pleased to announce that Vedere le cose (per A.S.), 2025, a new site-specific installation by Joseph Kosuth, has been "lit up" on the side façade of the Museo del Novecento in Milan.
The work, a "writing of light" extending 28 meters along Via Marconi, transforms the museum's exterior wall into a space for reflection in dialogue with the city. Acquired by the Municipality of Milan and now part of the museum's permanent collection, it will be officially inaugurated on July 1 by Councillor for Culture Tommaso Sacchi, in the presence of the artist.
"The present, which is in time what the façade is in space, prevents us from seeing things in depth": this is the phrase, taken from Scritti dispersi (Collected Writings, 1943–1952) by Alberto Savinio, that Joseph Kosuth chose to render in neon on the museum's façade. The metaphysical reflection evoked by Savinio thus meets Kosuth's conceptual language, proposing a meditation that invites viewers to move beyond the immediacy of the present and seek new possibilities of meaning in the depth of things.
The installation arrives at a particularly significant moment for the Museo del Novecento. With construction now underway for the museum's expansion into the second Arengario tower, the institution is entering a new phase in the transformation of its spaces and identity. "Kosuth's work ideally builds a bridge toward the second Arengario, which is destined to become an extension of the museum, accompanying it to the threshold of the contemporary," says Councillor for Culture Tommaso Sacchi.
The project originated within the framework of Metafisica/Metafisiche, the major citywide exhibition curated by Vincenzo Trione and produced by Palazzo Reale, Museo del Novecento, Grande Brera – Palazzo Citterio, and Gallerie d'Italia in collaboration with Electa. The exhibition explores the enduring influence of metaphysical vision from the early twentieth century to the present day. While the exhibition project concluded on June 21, Kosuth's work symbolically extends its reflection into the urban space, leaving a visible and permanent mark on the city.
Special thanks go to BIG Broker Insurance Group / CiaccioArte e and Neon Lario.
