UPCOMING EXHIBITION
Traveling Exhibitions
FIREWORKS Ileana Sonnabend
and the Contemporary Art Boom
November 3, 2026 – April 4, 2027
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Rome, Italy - FIREWORKS explores the extraordinary career of Ileana Sonnabend, whose vision and determination helped shape the course of contemporary art. Bringing together more than fifty works by 35 artists, the exhibition traces her enduring influence and the connections she forged between European and American art.
Presented across eight galleries at Palazzo Esposizioni Roma, the exhibition spans Pop Art, Minimalism, Conceptual Art, Arte Povera, and Neo-Geo. Works drawn from the Sonnabend Collection Foundation in New York, Sonnabend Collection Mantova, and other public and private collections reflect the artists and ideas Sonnabend championed through her galleries in Paris, Geneva, and New York.
Highlights include Jasper Johns’s Figure 8, Roy Lichtenstein’s Wall Explosion II, Andy Warhol’s Nine Jackies, and Robert Rauschenberg’s Kite, alongside works by Gilbert & George, Jannis Kounellis, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Jeff Koons, and others. Numerous works will be shown in Italy for the first time.
The exhibition celebrates Sonnabend’s instinct for experimentation and her ability to connect artists, movements, and cultures. Complementing the permanent collection in Mantova, FIREWORKS offers a further opportunity to explore her legacy and the art she helped bring to international attention.
The exhibition is promoted by Rome the Capital City’s Cultural Affairs Department and Azienda Speciale Palaexpo, and co-organized by the Municipality of Mantua in conjunction with the Sonnabend Collection Foundation New York and Marsilio Arte.