Pirelli HangarBicocca is proud to present the most extensive retrospective to date of American artist Matt Mullican (b. 1951). Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milan, Italy, 12 April – 16 September 2018

Matt Mullican: The Feeling of Things

The most extensive retrospective by the artist

Pirelli HangarBicocca | Milan, Italy

12 April – 16 September 2018

For the exhibition, the artist has designed a massive sculptural structure occupying nearly the entire 5,000 square meter exhibition space, with a shape derived from his iconic five-color-cosmologies. The structure contains thousands of meticulously arranged works and objects representing a rich selection of Mullican’s seminal works from the 1970s as well as more recent works: paintings, rubbings, banners, glass sculptures, works on paper, videos, lightboxes, floor pieces, installations and more.

Curated by Roberta Tenconi, the exhibition is accompanied by a publication focused on Mullican’s photographic works, ranging from his analog photos of the 1970s and 1980s to his most recent digital single shots and series, including installation views of the Milan show taken by the artist himself.

“The Feeling of Things” is the most extensive exhibition in Italy by Matt Mullican (born in 1951 in Santa Monica, California) and his major retrospective ever.

In a continuous attempt to explain and structure what is around him, Mullican has been working since the early 1970s to develop a complex system of models and vocabulary that he calls the “five worlds,” corresponding to different levels of perception and represented by five colors:

green for physical, material elements; blue for everyday life (the “world unframed”); yellow where objects become valuable, as in art (the “world framed”); black and white for language and symbols; and red for subjectivity and ideas.

For Pirelli HangarBicocca the artist has designed a massive sculptural structure that takes its shape from his most iconic five-color-cosmologies, occupying nearly the entire 5,000 square meter exhibition space. Visitors are invited to enter the structure to discover thousands of meticulously arranged works and objects.

Representing an extremely rich selection of Mullican’s seminal works from the 1970s as well as more recent times, they include paintings, rubbings, banners, glass sculptures, works on paper, videos, lightboxes, floor pieces and bigger installations and explore the most hermetic aspects of human life.

The exhibition is curated by Roberta Tenconi and is accompanied by a publication focused on Mullican’s photographic works, encompassing all his analogical photos from the 1970s and 1980s until the most recent digital single shots and series, including installation views of the Milan show, exceptionally taken by the artist himself.

Matt Mullican

Matt Mullican (born in 1951 in Santa Monica, California, lives and works in Berlin and New York) has exhibited in a number of different international institutions, including: Camden Arts Centre, London; The Kitchen, New York and Kunstmuseum Winterthur, Winterthur (2016); Kunsthalle Mainz, Mainz (2014); Fondazione Ratti, Como (2013); Haus der Kunst, München (2011); Institut d’art contemporain, Villeurbanne/Rhone-Alpes (2010); Tate Museum, London (2007); Ludwig Museum, Köln (2005); Kunsthalle Basel, Basel and Kunstmuseum St. Gallen, Sankt-Gallen (2001); Museu Serralves Museu de Arte Contemporanea, Porto (2000); Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (1998); Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven (1997); Centre for Contemporary Art – Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw and Kunsthalle Fridericianum, Kassel (1996); Nationalgalerie, Berlin and IVAM, Centre del Carme, Valencia (1995); Wiener Secession, Wien and Kunstverein Hamburg, Hamburg (1994); List Art Center, M.I.T., Boston (1990). He participated in numerous international exhibitions, most recently: 53a Biennale di Venezia (2013); Singapore Biennale (2011); 28th São Paulo Biennial and Whitney Biennial, Whitney Museum, New York (2008).

Exhibition Program

The exhibition “The Feeling of Things” is part of the 2018 exhibition program, conceived by the Artistic Director Vicente Todolí together with the Curatorial Department: Roberta Tenconi, Curator; Lucia Aspesi, Assistant Curator; Fiammetta Griccioli, Assistant Curator.

The programming will continue with exhibitions Mario Merz, “Igloos” (25 October 2018 – 24 February 2019) in the Navate space and by Leonor Antunes (14 September 2018 – January 2019) in the Shed space.

Pirelli HangarBicocca

Pirelli HangarBicocca is a non-profit institution dedicated to promoting and producing contemporary art which reflects Pirelli’s enterprise culture and its commitment to research, innovation and the spread of contemporary languages. With its rich and intense programming, Pirelli HangarBicocca includes solo exhibitions by leading international artists who stand out for the experimental nature of their work, and a parallel calendar of talks and cultural events, all in a space that is open to the public free of charge.