Francesco Clemente, major retrospective In Between at Triennale Milano

Francesco Clemente anchors the summer program at Triennale Milano with the retrospective In Between, bringing around 70 works from five decades into the Italian museum context.

From the AD HOC NEWS Art Desk » Museum & Collection Desk - The editors cover exhibitions, auctions, collections, prizes and artistic positions. Published: August 26, 2026 · Last checked: August 26, 2026, 4:41 PM

Francesco Clemente opens the summer program at Triennale Milano with the museum retrospective Francesco Clemente In Between. As Triennale Milano states, the show runs on the ground-floor Galleria in Milan until September 6, 2026 and gathers around 70 works from the late 1970s to today. Triennale Milano exhibition page

Milan retrospective at Triennale

The exhibition In Between at Triennale Milano presents approximately seventy works, including rarely exhibited pieces and new paintings, arranged across the Galleria space. It traces Clemente's painting practice from his early self-portraits to recent watercolors and frescoes within a non-linear, cross-cultural narrative. Itinerarinellarte exhibition report

Curated by Francesca Pietropaolo with Robert Storr, and realized in partnership with Vito Schnabel Gallery, the retrospective is described by Triennale as a major initiative to spotlight Italian contemporary art. It explores the idea of the "in-between" as a state across worlds and dimensions that structures Clemente's imagery.

Museum & collection angle on Wednesday

For the Italian museum landscape, In Between marks the first large Clemente retrospective at a public institution in more than fifteen years, following MADRE Napoli's show in 2009. Loans from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and the Peter Marino Art Foundation sit alongside works from the artist's studio, including previously unseen pieces.

The exhibition reunites for the first time since the 1982 Zeitgeist show at Berlin's Martin-Gropius-Bau the three foundational paintings My House, My Parents and My Journey. It also places the commissioned Portrait of Zoë Kravitz for Saint Laurent Summer 2025 amid autonomous works, stressing how fashion commissions intersect with his wider practice.

The work core behind In Between

Clemente, born in Naples in 1952, emerged with the Transavanguardia at the turn of the 1980s but kept a strongly introspective iconography. Self-portraits, fragmented bodies and spiritual symbolism recur, often informed by his long engagement with India, tantric meditation and collaboration with local artisans.

Alongside painting, he has developed large-scale installations such as Encampment, a city of painted tents realized with Rajasthani craftspeople at MASS MoCA in 2015, and fresco projects for institutions in Naples and New York. The Milan retrospective places these strands next to his editorial collaborations with Beat poets and his portrait commissions for Saint Laurent.

Where the artist stands now

Against this backdrop, Francesco Clemente In Between remains on view at Triennale Milano through September 6, 2026 as the key current institutional presentation of his work in Italy.

Key facts on Francesco Clemente

• Artist: Francesco Clemente
• Medium / Genre: Painting and works on paper (figurative, symbolic)
• Born: 1952, Naples, Italy
• Place(s) of practice: Studios in New York, India and New Mexico
• Active since: Early 1970s, first solo show in Rome in 1971
• Key work groups: Tents, Flags, Ocean of Stories, self-portrait cycles
• Current/last exhibition: Francesco Clemente In Between, Triennale Milano, May 29, 2026 to September 6, 2026
• Major collections: MoMA (New York), Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (New York), Tate (London), Kunstmuseum Basel, Uffizi Galleries (Florence), MADRE (Naples)
• Awards: Sigillo delle Arti 2026, Academy of Fine Arts of Urbino
• Next date: September 6, 2026, closing day of In Between at Triennale Milano

Frequently asked questions about Francesco Clemente

Where can I currently see Francesco Clemente's work in a museum exhibition?
In Italy, Clemente's major retrospective Francesco Clemente In Between is on view at Triennale Milano from May 29, 2026 to September 6, 2026, presenting around 70 works across five decades.

What makes the Triennale Milano show significant in Clemente's museum career?
The Milan retrospective is the first large-scale Clemente show at an Italian public institution in over fifteen years and reunites key 1980s works first shown together in the Berlin Zeitgeist exhibition.

Which public collections hold major works by Francesco Clemente?
Important holdings include the Museum of Modern Art and Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, Tate in London, Kunstmuseum Basel, the Uffizi Galleries in Florence and MADRE in Naples, reflecting his established institutional presence.

This article was produced with a.i. support and editorially reviewed. All statements without guarantee; auction results, exhibition dates and awards may change at short notice.