Arnaldo Pomodoro. Una vita
Major works from the Intesa Sanpaolo and Fondazione Arnaldo Pomodoro Collections
Gallerie d’Italia – Milan, Intesa Sanpaolo’s Museum
29 May – 18 October 2026
Curated by Luca Massimo Barbero and Federico Giani
A year after the passing of Arnaldo Pomodoro (Morciano di Romagna 1926 – Milan 2025), and to mark the centenary of his birth, Gallerie d’Italia – Intesa Sanpaolo and Fondazione Arnaldo Pomodoro pay tribute to one of the most significant figures of Italian and international contemporary art of the late twentieth century with the exhibition Arnaldo Pomodoro. Una vita, opening to the public at the Gallerie d'Italia in Piazza Scala in Milan, Intesa Sanpaolo Museum, from 28 May to 18 October 2026.
Curated by Luca Massimo Barbero, Associate Curator of the Bank’s Modern and Contemporary Art Collections, and Federico Giani, curator of Fondazione Arnaldo Pomodoro, the exhibition tells the story of a life and of an artistic journey spanning more than sixty years, from the vibrant beginnings of the mid-1950s to the most recent experimentations of the 2000s.
Curated by Luca Massimo Barbero, Associate Curator of Intesa Sanpaolo’s Modern and Contemporary Art Collections, and Federico Giani, curator at Fondazione Arnaldo Pomodoro, the exhibition is the story of a life – an artistic journey spanning over sixty years, from the fervour of the early 1950s to the artist’s most recent experiments of the 2000s. With an anthological selection of fortyfive works from the Intesa Sanpaolo and Fondazione Arnaldo Pomodoro Collections, the public will be able to retrace, decade by decade, the key stages in Pomodoro’s poetic and creative career. The exhibition layout offers an opportunity to admire his most iconic works, as well as lesser-known pieces and a curated archive section designed to suggest new interpretations. The exhibition layout is a reinterpretation of some of the artist’s most effective display designs, further enhancing the visionary quality of his research.
The exhibition unfolds through the Gallerie d’Italia spaces in Milan, from the Salone Scala and adjacent galleries, through to the Salone Manzoni and Cantiere del Novecento, concluding with the Octagonal Cloister and the Garden of Alessandro, where two monumental works by Pomodoro are permanently on view: Disco in forma di rosa del deserto n.1 (1993–1994) and Sfera grande (1966–1967). These two sculptures form the nucleus of the longstanding collaboration between Gallerie d’Italia – Intesa Sanpaolo and Fondazione Arnaldo Pomodoro, dedicated to the promotion and conservation of the Bank’s artistic heritage.
Civita Mostre e Musei, in collaboration with the Educational Department of Fondazione Arnaldo Pomodoro, offers educational activities for schools of all levels connected to the exhibition, a rich and engaging experience dedicated to the centenary of the artist’s birth.
Click here to discover the educational program.
When: 29 May – 18 October 2026
Where: Gallerie d’Italia – Milan, Intesa Sanpaolo’s Museum
Under the patronage of
