5 – 8 February 2026
Ugo La Pietra Galleria Enrico Astuni · Giuseppe Pietoniro Labs Gallery · Eva Marisaldi Galleria De’Foscherari
Flavio de MarcoVilla delle Rose · Antonello Ghezzi Museo Lercaro · Etel Adnan & Giorgio Morandi Museo Morandi
Mattia Moreni Project Room MAMbo · Davide Peretti Poggi Galleria B4 · Francesco. Contenitore di pittura Studio Cenacchi
Eva Marisaldi & Enrico Serotti Museo Internazionale e Biblioteca della Musica
Jacopo Mazzonelli Museo Lercaro · Gianluca Cingolani L’Ariete artecontemporanea · Jessica Ferro Museo Lercaro
Special Tips for the ART CITY Weekend
With its 14th edition, the ART CITY as Bologna’s add-on to the city’s art fair is more than established and attracts numerous visitors every year from inside and outside the capital of the region Emilia-Romagna. Scheduled are more than 300 venues from the 5th to 8th February 2026, with special offers like performances on Saturday the 7th, during the traditional White Night. Fortunately, several exhibitions have opened already, which we have visited for you.
Plunging into Spaces
The Galleria Enrico Astuni allows insides in the artistic/activist work by Ugo La Pietra’s from 1966 to 2025. „La mia territorialità” (My territoriality) shows in countless drawings, collages and paintings, La Pietra’s ideas how public space could be appropriated. Installations illustrate the conversion of traffic signs and construction site equipment to seating furniture and other objects. Two videos demonstrate the artist’s credo “Living means feeling at home anywhere”. (until 14 February)
More an extensive installation than an exhibition of single works is presented by the Labs Gallery, For “…dove tu stai, anche io sarò” (…where you are, I will be too) Giuseppe Pietoniro also conceived the staging, where he integrated his works, which are varying from painting and drawing to sculpture. In the entrance area high up at the wall, a little redstart gazes at itself in a mirror, almost unnoticed. In contrast, the wall drawing in the main hall seems to rush towards the viewer or rather draws them in by its extreme perspective … where you are, I will be too. Seemingly surreal photocollages turnout to be drawings. Painted colour fields show stylised architectures or machines or … spaces difficult to define. In the middle of these geometric images stands – on a tall red pedestal – a ceramic sculpture, looking like a formalised blue dachshund. A butterfly has landed on its nose, and the dog seems to appreciate it … where you are, I will be too. (until 1 April)
Eva Marisaldi, who collaborates since 1998 with the musician Enrico Serotti, focusses with “Continental” once again on space. However, in the Galleria de’Foscherari she reflects upon Eurasia. In video, drawing and sculptural installation, she points to the connections between the geopolitical distinct continents. The title-giving series of drawings could depict in both. A video of an Afghan worker as DJ outlines the intercultural exchange. The convoy of vans “For Ken Loach” refer to the British filmmaker and his oeuvre and at the same time to an experience of community. For “Social” Marisaldi and Serotti filmed an ant colony as allegory of societies, where chaos and order coexist. (until 25 April)
In his paintings, Flavio de Marco describes the change of our perception by steadily growing computer use and herewith the intense circulation of images. The exhibition “Screen Life” at the Villa delle Rose illustrates how the virtual space increasingly expands to replace the real one. There are pictures, which remind the beginnings of computer work. Seemingly screenshots of opened windows in grey and pale blue tones, sometimes already with a background photo. A green bar may also appear at the bottom of the screen, indicating that time is passing while the computer is booting or loading content. Long time ago … Then the images on the monitor become more and more. Flavio de Marco uses them to establish art-historical references. These can also be found when a computer workstation is displayed, or when smartphone screens appear. Here they are background images. There are also portraits of smartphone users who seem to have completely forgotten their surroundings. Once, the image of a lion appears sharp only on the display; in reality, the lion is blurred. Another time, the image literally grows out of the display. The shift of reality is particularly striking in “Bayraktar TB2, Kharkiv, Ukraine”: on the left is a section of a flight booking portal with a dream destination background; on the right are Ukrainian soldiers controlling their weapons via computers, as in a video game. There is much to reflect on in this exhibition. (until 29 March)
Once again, as in the long-term project La casa della via Lattea (Biblioteca Walter Bigiavi, until 8 February), the artist duo Antonello Ghezzi looks into space. At the Museo Lercaro they reach for the stars. “Venire alla Luce” (Coming into the Light), was an idea, born during the pandemic to revive areas deprived of sunlight. As it turned out, this was impossible. But through cooperation with various stakeholders, meadows in the hinterland of Bologna were illuminated at night. The exhibition shows photographic documentation, working materials and works created from the project to illuminate the night. (until 15 February)
A Focus on Painting
A soundless noise comes from the vibrations “Vibrazioni”, which arises between Etel Adnan‘s and Giorgio Morandi‘s paintings at the Museo Morandi. It is a silent dialogue, which develops by form, colour and concept of nature, even though they had very different approaches. He, the trained artist and art teacher; she, the writer and visual artist without artistic studies. Morandi, who, with few exceptions, never left Bologna and its surroundings. Adnan, who was born in Lebanon, grew up multilingual and wanderer between cultures. In addition to her home country, she lived in France and the United States. He, the painter of muted colours, she with a preference for bright ones. Despite all this, these two divergent artists harmonise remarkably with each other. (until 3 May)
Not far away, also in the MAMbo building, is the project room of the Museum of Modern Art. Here, an exhibition is dedicated to the Romagnol by choice Mattia Moreni. It is the fourth stop of five shows, conceived as anthology of the artist. “Mattia Moreni. L’antologica di Bologna, 1965” resumes and reinterprets the first personal exhibition by an Italian institution from 1965, which was held in the Galleria d’Arte Moderna of Bologna, the predecessor of today’s MAMbo. On display are eleven paintings from the same period that was the subject of the previous exhibition. Additionally, there are letters from the artist to the curator at the time, Francesco Arcangeli and an essay from him. Besides an emblematic melon picture from 1964 and the development indicating “Giardino delle mimose” from 1954, there are several images showing a sign in a field, often during stormy weather, from the early 1960s. This reveals the artist’s development and diverse interpretations. Finally, one sees some black-and-white paintings that show increasing abstraction. The next and last part of the Mattia Moreni anthology, will be in Ravenna in March 2026. (until 31 May)
A seemingly familiar world unfolds in Galleria B4. It feels like diving into a sea of flowers. Despite the impasto brushstrokes, the petals appear light. They seem to emerge from the canvas, sometimes even extending beyond it. However, in “Affioramenti” Davide Peretti Poggi does not only show flowers in full bloom. Some canvases retain their original colour. Here, the roses and peonies are almost wilted, their petals faded, so that they recede into the background. (7 Mars)
In contrast to these exhibitions, the Galleria Studio Cenacchi presents with “Francesco. Contenitore di pittura” (Francesco. Paint Container) a group of 28 artists. The focus is on contemporary painting, with the exception of some sculptures and one video. According to the wide range of artists, the different forms of expression are varying from figuration to abstraction, with many shades in between. The title refers to Francesco Siracusa, who had from 2014 until 2019 an exhibition space in Agrigento. Based on this project, Bologna is the third stop where contemporary painting (in the broadest sense) is on view. (until 28 February)
Sounds
Since a while, it has become established practice for artists to mix their works in with the exhibitions of the city’s museums during ART CITY. This is doubly interesting because, in addition to contemporary art, there are also historical collections to discover.
Particularly successful is this dialogue at the Museo internazionale e biblioteca della musica. Here, Eva Marisaldi and Enrico Serotti present various sound installations under the title ‘Per vari motivi – Parte II’. Self-acting drum timpani perform the timpani part of Claudio Montiverdi’s overture of Orfeo. Sound of a woodworm recorded in 2002 emerge from an old wardrobe. Tones of a very old Neolithic flute ring out and a vronteion produces thunder like in an ancient Greek theatre. It is advisable not to visit the exhibition during White Night, as the sounds may be drowned out by the crowds. (until 22 February)
The same is recommended for “Persistence” by Jacopo Mazzonelli in the Museo Lercaro. Twenty-four organ pipes hang down from the ceiling like a rain of arrows. They are not particularly threatening, as the points are directed upwards. Moving around beneath and between them, a sound unfolds, unfamiliar to the organ music that might be expected. Seemingly created by the movement of the air in the room, one could listen to a mystical sound. (until 8 March)
Magical Silence
Gianluca Cingolani has different forms of expression, from inkjet print to video and woodworking. For “En_Gramma” at the Galleria L’Ariete artecontemporanea he conceived not only the artworks. Moreover, he designed the staging to embed signs coming from his imagination or ancient Chinese characters. Images, which resemble ancient characters appear before us, a white bird, as if made of origami, disappears from our reading, characters appear independently on the screen. The contemplation is so poetic that one would like to immerse oneself completely in these foreign worlds. (until 21 February)
With her solo exhibition “Recidere” (Cut off) Jessica Ferro engages in a conversation with the collection of the Museo Lercaro, which regularly invites contemporary artists for this purpose. Inspired by petrifactions found at the Monte Bolca fossil site, the works deal with transience, but also with preservation, themes inherent to the collection of the late Cardinal Giacomo Lercaro, founder of the collection. Jessica Ferro enlarges fossils, mostly leaves or insects. Printed in red shades on long down hanging fabric strips, they only slowly emerge as an image. In contrast, they appear more like ornamental patterns on smaller pictures. The seven-metre-long Leporello “Atropo” appears like a timeline, a silent witness of the past. This is the third exhibition currently hosted in the Museo Lercaro. (until 15 March)
Special Tips for the ART CITY Weekend
Only on view until Sunday 8th February is the video “Resto” by the artist duo MASBEDO. With its organ playing, it is particularly favourable for the hall of the Oratorio di San Filippo Neri. Also, only accessible until the end of the official ART CITY dates is “pubblicCITTÀ gap” in the profaned vestige of the church San Nicolò. Here eight artists show their mostly site-specific works – a very interesting visual and sound experience in an exceptional space. The photo exhibition “Passaggi/Übergänge” by Betty Zanelli at the Goethe Zentrum, invites not only to discover surprising crossovers. On Saturday 7th February (19 h 30), there is a concert by Sara Albani (saxophone tenor) with music by Marco Visconti Prasca.
Moreover, the ART CITY’s Special Program takes visitors to seven locations, which are part of the University of Bologna. Several would usually not be accessible for the public. There are video- and sound installations, some of which are partly accompanied by performances by Italian and international artists. This cooperation with the venerable Alma Mater Studiorum features the artistic examination of “The Body of Language”. There are guided bus tours from the city centre, which bring you to all places. (reservation recommended).
We wish you a great ART CITY!