Research and development

Repetto Gallery is deeply dedicated to the research, development, and valorization of the artistic and cultural heritage. This commitment is demonstrated by the organization of exhibitions, solo and group shows, the publication of catalogues and monographs on the artists represented, as well as the preservation, research, and innovative valorization of the historical-artistic heritage made up of the artists’ works and related archival material.

The gallery also aims to be an epicentre for the promotion and development of contemporary art and is actively involved in the promotion and dissemination of Italian artists, including Ghirri, Fontana, Munari and Schifano; some of the protagonists of Arte Povera, Boetti, Calzolari, Paolini, Pistoletto and selected international artists, including Christo, Long, Matsutani, Motonaga and Neshat. In representing the artists, the gallery is committed to protecting and promoting their work. An important example is the gallery’s historic artist Fausto Melotti: the Gallery’s support contributed to the organisation of a major exhibition dedicated to Melotti at the Guggenheim Museum in Venice in 2014.

It also contributed to and supported the publication of Robert Smithson. Spiral Jetty (2010), with photographs by Gianfranco Gorgoni, published in collaboration with Photology and Jim Kempner Fine Art; and the general catalogue of Michelangelo Pistoletto, published by Phaidon and currently in production.

Notable exhibitions organised by the gallery include: Postwar Italian Ceramics (2014), curated by Luca Massimo Barbero, with works by Lucio Fontana and Fausto Melotti; the solo exhibitions of Michelangelo Pistoletto; Giulio Paolini (with a text by Andrea Cortellessa) and Pier Paolo Calzolari (curated by David Anfam), the exhibitions dedicated to Carol Rama, Conrad Marca-Relli and Victor Vasarely, in collaboration with their respective foundations; We Land (2016), a group exhibition of land art with works by Walter De Maria, Richard Long and Giuseppe Penone, among others; Metamorphosis: The Alchemist of Matter (2016), dedicated to Arte Povera, with texts by Bruno Corà; Threading Spaces (2019), with works by four Italian artists: Maria Lai, Franca Sonnino, Elisabetta Gut and Nedda Guidi; The Boundaries of the Subconscious. Informal Art in Italy, 1952-1962 (2020), with works by Afro, Mattia Moreni, Ennio Morlotti and others; kένωσις – Lucio Fontana and Fausto Melotti (2022); Giorgio de Chirico, in the Mirror of the Twentieth Century. Warhol, Schifano, Paolini, Ghirri, Salvo (2022-2023) (accompanied by a text by Andrea Cortellessa) and Schifano. Pittura felice (2024) (with a note by Marco Meneguzzo). The exhibitions organised by the Gallery are accompanied by publications which, in addition to documenting the event, aim to promote research and innovative studies on the works and artists presented.

The gallery also promotes the cultural and creative industries through training initiatives, conferences and meetings with critics, curators and art world professionals, including the Giorgio de Chirico. Painter and Writer (2023) with the participation of Andrea Cortellessa, Paride Pelli and Paolo Repetto.

The current programme includes the rediscovery of the Italian artist and designer Bruno Munari, whose artistic practice has been promoted in numerous national and international monographic projects, such as Bruno Munari. Tutto (Fondazione Magnani-Rocca, Parma, 2024); Bruno Munari. La leggerezza dell’arte (EARTH Eataly Art House, Verona, 2023-2024); Bruno Munari: The Child Within (CIMA Center for Italian Modern Art, New York, 2022); Bruno Munari (Fundación Juan March, Madrid, 2022).

The gallery is also regularly invited by national and international museums and institutions to participate in the realisation of exhibitions and catalogues. This collaboration includes the promotion of studies and unpublished research, the coordination and loan of works of art, thus contributing to the dissemination and enhancement of the artistic production represented. These include Fausto Melotti – When Music Becomes Sculpture (2017-1018) and Christo and Jeanne-Claude. Projects (2023) at the Fondazione Cosso, Castello di Miradolo; Il Canto della Terra. Horizons of Land Art (2021) at MANU – Museo Archeologico Nazionale dell’Umbria, Perugia; and Luigi Ghirri – Il viaggio. Photographs 1970-1991 (2024-2025), at MASI Lugano.

Lastly, Repetto Gallery plays a central role in projects aimed at artistic growth and supports cultural initiatives in the area: as a member of GAL, the Lugano Galleries Association, of which Carlo Repetto is vice-president, the gallery is actively involved in the dissemination of art and culture in the Ticino context.