CIMA presents an exhibition exploring the relationship between one of Italy’s greatest living artists, Giulio Paolini, and one of its most celebrated modern masters, the Giorgio de Chirico. Paolini has often expressed his admiration for de Chirico, hailing him as an “illustrious model” and incorporating numerous references to the artist in his own photographs, sculptures, and drawings throughout the course of his career. 

CIMA’s show features an ongoing conceptual work by Paolini, Interno metafisico (2009–16), reconceived specifically for CIMA’s galleries, as well as a series of historical and new works related to various tropes in de Chirico’s paintings. The installation also showcases a selection of de Chirico’s most iconic Metaphysical masterworks, on view in the U.S. for the first time since 1970, including most notably Le Muse Inquietanti (The Disquieting Muses) (1918). The exhibition marks the first time the relationship between de Chirico and Paolini has been explored in depth through a focused exhibition; it also represents the first time that CIMA closely examines issues of post-war Italian art.