One of Europe's leading art galleries opens first location in Italy: Thaddaeus Ropac in Milan

One of Europe’s leading art galleries will open a branch in the heart of Milan. We’re talking about Thaddaeus Ropac: the Austrian gallery with branches in Salzburg, Paris, London, Seoul and Sankt Moritz is expanding and opening a new location in Palazzo Belgioioso, one of the treasures of the Lombard capital, just a few meters from Teatro alla Scala and Via Montenapoleone. The Milan office, Thaddaeus Ropac’s seventh, will be directed by Elena Bonanno of Linguaglossa, who will bring nearly twenty-five years of experience to the gallery, having worked in the fields of modern and contemporary art, with particular expertise in Italian and American art. In fact, she was previously senior director at Lévy Gorvy Dayan Gallery and before that worked at Fondazione Pastificio Cerere, Albion Gallery, at Haunch of Venison and Blain Southern, and curated exhibitions at Villa Bardini (Florence), Galleria Borghese (Rome), MAMbo (Bologna), and Collezione Panza (Varese). A law graduate of Luiss University in Rome, Elena Bonanno of Linguaglossa has also lectured on the art market and contemporary art at the European Institute of Design in Rome. Thaddaeus Ropac’s Milan office will span two large rooms over 280 square meters on the second floor of the historic building. The exhibition spaces will extend beyond the building to Piazza Belgioioso, the public square outside, where the gallery has already made it known that it plans to display sculptures.

Built for Prince Alberico XII di Belgioioso d’Este, the Palazzo Belgioioso is among the finest examples of neoclassical architecture in Lombardy. The lavish residence was completed in 1781 by Giuseppe Piermarini and extensively restored to its former glory in 1991. The palace’s rooms feature period decorations, including remarkable frescoes by Martin Knoller and stucco work by Giocondo Albertolli. The public square beyond the palace, Piazza Belgioioso, also facing Casa Manzoni, home of Alessandro Manzoni, will provide a public space where the gallery will display sculptures and installations by its artists.

The exhibition program at Thaddaeus Ropac Milan will be announced in the coming months: an exhibition at the Milan Museum of the Twentieth Century, supported by Fiera Milano, has been pera anticipated to commemorate Robert Rauschenberg’s (1925-2008) 100th birthday from spring 2025. Juxtaposing his work with 20th-century masterpieces in the museum’s collection, the exhibition will create a dynamic dialogue between Rauschenberg’s innovative vision and the rich mosaic of modern Italian art.

“Milan is the crossroads of Europe, Italy the beating heart of the continent: a country that has profoundly shaped the evolution of art over the centuries and where crucial modern art movements were born,” comments Thaddaeus Ropac. “We have always felt the absence of Italy in our constellation of European galleries, considering it important for our international growth and the development of our artists. Many of them have held major institutional exhibitions in Italy with new projects, and now, with our new gallery, we will be able to hold the first exhibitions in Italy of more of our artists. Over these decades we have established significant relationships with collectors and institutions, and the particular momentum that Milan has been showing in recent years as an art destination makes it a natural choice for us. Having the right team and the ideal venue is essential, so we are very happy to have Elena at the helm of our Milan gallery.”

“I have always admired the exceptional selection of artists the gallery represents and the visionary approach with which Thaddaeus works with them, as well as the way the program has evolved in such a compelling way thanks to the new artists who have been added in recent years,” says Elena Bonanno of Linguaglossa. “I am very happy to be joining the team and firmly believe that Milan, which has always been a place of great collectors and collections and now with a thriving art scene, is the right choice for the gallery and its artists. Thaddaeus Ropac Milan will make a significant contribution to the city’s emergence as a leading international art destination.”

The relationship between Thaddaeus Ropac and Italian art, a long-lasting bond

Thaddaeus Ropac Gallery has a longstanding commitment to Italy and its art scene. For example, it has represented Fondazione Emilio Vedova internationally since 2014: among its most significant exhibitions is the retrospective at Palazzo Reale in 2019-2020 curated by Germano Celant (1940-2020), on the centenary of the artist’s birth. Again, reviewing the history of Thaddaeus Ropac’s exhibitions, an exhibition on Medardo Rosso was presented in the inaugural year of Thaddaeus Ropac’s London gallery (2017). Revered by his peers, Guillaume Apollinaire described Rosso as the “greatest living sculptor,” and Auguste Rodin wrote of his “wild admiration” for the artist. Medardo Rosso: Sight Unseen was the first exhibition to focus on Rosso’s relationship with London: it featured rarely exhibited works and, for the first time in the UK, presented the artist’s personal photographs of his sculptures and drawings.

As Anselm Kiefer’s representative, Thaddaeus Ropac oversaw the 2004 opening of the Pirelli HangarBicocca in Milan and the creation of Kiefer’s Seven Heavenly Palaces as a permanent installation within the Milan exhibition venue. In 2015, five large-scale paintings were then added to complete the original work.

Still, in the history of Thaddaeus Ropac’s presence in Italy, the solo exhibition Turn Me On (2022-23) by Sylvie Fleury at the Pinacoteca Agnelli in Turin, the largest exhibition in Italy to date devoted to Sylvie Fleury’s work, is noteworthy. Many other artists represented by the gallery have had exhibitions at institutions throughout Milan. These include Oliver Beer’s Hypertimes, FuturDome (2019); Valie Export’s The Desire of Freedom , Palazzo Reale (2013); Sylvie Fleury’s A Noir , Triennale Milano (1998); Strade / Ways Talking to Gabriele - Carpet - Lullaby to my Father by Amos Gitai , Palazzo Reale (2014-15); Sturtevant’s The Great Mother , Fondazione Nicola Trussardi (2015); Hans Josephsohn at Fondazione ICA Milan (2019); Tom Sachs’ solo exhibition at Fondazione Prada (2006); and Andreas Slominski’s solo exhibition at Fondazione Prada (2003). Donald Judd, another artist represented by the gallery, has been featured in numerous exhibitions, the most recent being K at the Fondazione Prada (2020), as has Ron Mueck, who had his first solo exhibition in Italy at the Milan Triennale (2023).

The Milan gallery offers, according to Thaddaeus Ropac, an ideal venue for his and activities throughout Italy, including supporting his artists in their participation in exhibitions that coincide with the Venice Biennale. Most recently, this has been the case with Alex Katz at the Giorgio Cini Foundation (2024); Martha Jungwirth at the Galleria di Palazzo Cini (2024), and previously Joseph Beuys (2022) and Adrian Ghenie (2019); and Daniel Richter at the Ateneo Veneto (2022). Major exhibitions in Venice have also recently included Georg Baselitz’s career overview at the Gallerie dell’Accademia (2019) and Anselm Kiefer’s monumental installation at Palazzo Ducale (2022).

One of Europe's leading art galleries opens first location in Italy: Thaddaeus Ropac in Milan

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