Until September 7, 2025, MAMbo – Museum of Modern Art of Bologna, will host the exhibition “Facile Ironia. Irony in Italian art between the XX and XXI century “. A collective exhibition that celebrates the sharp and light power of irony, through over 100 works and documents by more than 70 artists, including great names and new voices in the Italian art scene.
Curated by Lorenzo Balbi and Caterina Molteni, the exhibition is part of the official ART CITY Bologna 2025 program and represents one of the flagship events to celebrate 50 years since the founding of the Gallery of Modern Art of Bologna.
The exhibition, designed for the evocative Sala delle Ciminiere, accompanies visitors on a journey through seventy years of Italian art, among provocations, political irony, nonsense, and existential reflections. A journey that starts from the 1950s to today, where irony becomes a critical language, an alternative perspective on society, and a key to interpreting the contradictions of our time.
Among the artists on display: Bruno Munari, Piero Manzoni, Gino De Dominicis, Piero Gilardi, Michelangelo Pistoletto, and also Maurizio Cattelan, Paola Pivi, Francesco Vezzoli, Tomaso Binga, up to the duo Eva & Franco Mattes, who with the digital language of memes reveal the new codes of contemporary humor.
The title “Facile Ironia” is in itself a provocation: behind the apparent lightness, lies a thoughtful, complex irony, capable of becoming a tool for social, political, and cultural investigation. The exhibition explores irony as a critical practice, creative play, and an antidote to absurdity, among feminism, activism, conceptual art, and dark humor.
The exhibition design, curated by Filippo Bisagni, is inspired by the original project of the architect Aldo Rossi for MAMbo, evoking lost architectural elements and creating an effect of disorientation that dialogues with the theme of the exhibition.
MAMbo is easily reachable from Relais Bellaria Hotel. Don’t miss the opportunity to visit this exhibition, you have until September 7!
