To celebrate the Maestro’s 90 years the Sala delle Cariatidi in the Palazzo Reale will be the cornerstone of his great retrospective embracing the whole city and some of its most prestigious exhibition venues.

From November 30, 2016 to February 5, 2017, Milan celebrates Arnaldo Pomodoro’s 90 years with a great retrospective simultaneously set up in different spaces and an itinerary embracing the whole city.

At the heart of the initiative is the exhibition, curated by Ada Masoero, promoted by the City of Milan, ideated and produced by the Fondazione Arnaldo Pomodoro and Palazzo Reale with the collaboration of Mondo Mostre Skira. This will be hosted in the Palazzo Reale’s Sala delle Cariatidi, one of Milan’s most historically symbolic spaces, and will bring together about thirty sculptures created between 1955 and today, chosen by the artist himself to represent the most important stages in his research and work, which has been ongoing for over sixty years.

The exhibition starts with the 1950s bass reliefs in lead, silver and cement, which already show the characteristic themes of Pomodoro’s research, from the Colonna del Viaggiatore and the Grande Tavola della Memoria, through the geometric shapes in shiny sliced and corroded bronze, and the celebrated Spheres to the Cippi, to reach the imposing relief of Le battaglie in fibreglass and graphite powder, that speaks of material as magma, source of life but also conflict and endless simmering tension.

In the Piazzetta Reale will be exhibited, for the first time in its entirety, the sculptural complex of The Pietrarubbia Group. This is an environmental work in progress, started in 1975 and finished in 2015 and comprising six elements, that pays an ideal tribute to the ancient town of Pietrarubbia near Montefeltro and shapes the emotions and links that the Maestro has with his own origins, that has become both a physical and imaginary place.

Four ‘Visionary’ projects will be presented at the Triennale di Milano and in the Fondazione Arnaldo Pomodoro in Milan’s via Vigevano venue: together they will show the dialogue between the sculptural work, the architecture and the surrounding space. The Simposio di Minoa in Marsala (Sicily) and Carapace, the Winery of the Tenute Lunelli in Bevagna (Umbria) will be presented at the Triennale and curated by Aldo Colonetti, while the Pietrarubbia monument and the project for the New Cemetery at Urbino will be exhibited in the Foundation and curated by Ada Masoero; four works, documented through maquettes, drawings and photos, that develop out of Pomodoro’s visions and become urban landscapes, signs that characterize the territory, part of our daily lives.

The Museo Poldi Pezzoli in the Sala del Collezionista will document Arnaldo Pomodoro’s passion for the theatre through a selection of sixteen stage project models that recount the story of his work for the stage between 1982 and 2009 in different theatrical fields, from tragedy to Opera, from contemporary theatre to music. You may also rediscover the Armory, which he designed in 2000, that for this occasion underwent a conservative renovation and a new lighting design.

The exhibitions are completed by an artistic itinerary that connects various parts of the city. From Piazza Meda with its Grande Disco, chosen this year by the Milanese as the iconic symbol of the city, to Largo Greppi with Torre a Spirale placed in front of the Piccolo Teatro, to one of Milan’s most secret and fascinating places, Entering the Labyrinth – an environment of around 170 sqm – built in the basement of the ex Riva Calzoni building in via Solari 35, once the Foundation’s exhibition venue.

At the Palazzo Reale, during the exhibition, the visitors will be able to enter the Labyrinth virtually thanks to the immersive potential of Gear VR and HTC Vive, through a multisensory experience that covers both time and space.

The project, set up in the Sala degli Arazzi, curated by Eugenio Alberti Schatz, and designed by Oliver Pavicevic (navigation and reconstruction of the rooms) and by Steve Piccolo (sound) has been made possible through the contribution of The Secular Society. Accompanying the exhibition will be a series of events aimed at deepening and discussing the work and the figure of Arnaldo Pomodoro in his relationship with the ideas and movements of contemporary art.

The exhibition also offers a rich and articulated Educational program curated by the Educational Department of the Fondazione Arnaldo Pomodoro with ADMaiora, thanks to the support of EasyReading Multimedia and the collaboration of Blazing Strategies International ltd.