Focus 900

The project FOCUS900 The programme at the Museo del Novecento in Milan consists of a series of in-depth exhibitions dedicated to groups of works, artistic periods or key figures from the museum’s permanent collections.

The three paths outlined are linked to the role of poetry, formal experimentation with surfaces, and the intellectual and artistic climate of Milan, often in close dialogue with the criticism of the time and with the legacy of historic journals such as «DATA»:

1. FOCUS900 | Enrico Castellani and relief surfaces

• Main topic: Enrico Castellani’s formal and spatial exploration.
• Description: This in-depth analysis focuses on Castellani’s exploration of the modulation of the pictorial surface. Through the use of rhythmic protrusions and indentations in the canvas, created by nails driven into the frames, Castellani transforms the flat surface into a vibrant three-dimensional structure, capable of interacting with light and the surrounding space, transcending the traditional boundaries of figurative and informal painting.

2. FOCUS900 | Vincenzo Agnetti and poetry

• Main topic: The word, language and the poetic dimension in the work of Vincenzo Agnetti.
• Description: This feature examines the role of poetry in the final years of Agnetti’s artistic career. As one of the leading figures in Italian conceptual art, Agnetti explored the limits of language, paradox, time and absence. At this stage of his career, the written word, translation and poetic syntax became central visual and conceptual tools for reflecting on the act of communication and on the very meaning of the work of art.

3. FOCUS900 | Adami, Cavaliere, Del Pezzo, Piccoli, Tadini

• Main topic: The Milan art scene and the dialogue between painting, line and visual storytelling.
• Description: This collective exhibition brings together the work of five key figures in Italian art of the second half of the 20th century:
  • Valerio Adami: With his painting characterised by sharp contours and flat areas of colour, drawing on both Pop Art and intellectual traditions.
  • Alik Cavaliere: With his sculptures and metaphorical compositions dedicated to nature, memory and literature.
  • Lucio Del Pezzo: With its sculptural reliefs, geometric symbols and colourful idols, evoking a metaphysical and playful atmosphere.
  • Bobo Piccoli: Through his explorations of architecture, painting and the integration of the visual arts.
  • Emilio Tadini: With his narrative, figurative and literary painting, which weaves together imagery, storytelling and non-fiction.

The exhibition highlights the extensive network of exchanges, the shared figurative and conceptual sensibility, and the cultural climate that characterised Milan in the 1960s and 1970s.