Must-See Milan Shows This Spring: Jennifer Guidi, Allegra Hicks, and More

A global epicenter of design and creativity, Milan is truly an art lover’s dream. A walk through the city is a journey through the rich, historical creativity—espeically during Milan Design Week. Whether you’re eager to explore more contemporary, vibrant galleries or immerse yourself in the traditional exhibits housed in local museums, Whitewall has curated a list of one–of–a–kind exhibitions on display this season that should not be missed. 

Thierry De Cordier: NADA

Fondazione Prada

Largo Isarco

Monochromatic and intentionally deconstructive, Thierry De Cordier’s exploration of significant religious moments unfolds through the act of deliberate symbolic annihilation. Located at Fondazione Prada’s, Cisterna Building, “NADA” reflects a quest to liberate well–known religious images–such as Christ on a cross–from their restrictive interpretations of origin. The exhibition challenges viewers to abandon their previous perceptions of religious works and embrace the “grandeur of nothingness” that emanates from the large, dark canvases. The collection consists of ten works from “NADA” intentionally exhibited in the Cisterna Building. The three exhibition rooms, surrounded by post-industrial architecture, create an almost sacred space among the newly liberated religious depictions.  

What we love: Taking a seat on the bench placed in front of De Cordier’s colossal work “Gran Nada” (2007-2012), located in the center room of the exhibition. The bench offers a unique opportunity to pause, explore and contemplate the profound depth beneath the black paint. 

Thierry De Cordier at Fondazione Prada
April 3– September 29, 2025

VALERIO ADAMI: Laboratorio

Gió Marconi

Alessandro Tadino

Ninety years into his life and sixty years after his first show at Gió Marconi, Valerio Adami returns with a retrospect that critically explores a pivotal period in his work–1962 through the early 1970’s. The exhibition unfolds chronologically highlighting the impact each environment had on Adami and his evolving creative process. It begins in London 1962, where encounters with impactful artists such as Graham Sutherland, Jim Dine and Richard Hamilton, deeply shaped his work. It was here where Adami began to explore the incorporation of “sound” into his visual practice. Spanning three floors, the exhibition guides viewers to Villa Cantoni in Arona on Lake Maggiore, which Adami shared with his wife, continuing on to New York and Paris, and culminating in Studio Marconi’s experimental 1970 presentation of Valerio Adami. 

What we love: The chronological layout of the exhibition feels almost like a visual diary, where each part of the exhibit reveals new layers of his life, influences and creative transformation.

VALERIO ADAMI at Gió Marconi
March 28—July 11, 2025

Yukinori Yanagi: ICARUS

Bicocca

Via Chiese 2

This season, Yukinori Yanagi makes his mark with “ICARUS”, his first Major European curated exhibition. The show showcases a selection of his most defining works from the 1990s to 2000s, alongside a glimpse into some of him most recent creations including, “Icarus Container” (2025), found in the central space of the Navate, and “The World Flag Ant Farm” (2025) hosted in the Cubo. The exhibition presents visitors with recurring themes of dualism– destruction and rebirth, reality and fantasy, matter and symbolism,–creating a metaphor for global unity. Yanagi’s work seeks to convey a sense of constant movement and change, symbolized by the incorporation of organic and living materials. By highlighting the contrast between permanence and stability, his conceptual pieces embody the cautionary message of the Greek myth of Icarus and Daedalus, a tale of deconstruction and rebirth.

What we love: Seeing “Icarus Container” at the heart of the Navate– its monumental and raw materials offer a powerful visual anchor to Yanagi’s themes of collapse and transformation. 

Yukinori Yanagi at Pirelli HangarBicocca
March 27—July 27, 2025

Allegra Hicks: Napoli Future Nostalgia

Nilfur Gallery

Via della Spiga

Allegra Hicks and Nilfur Gallery reunite for a second time this year to celebrate the creative and cultural heritage of Naples in their curated exhibition “Napoli Future Nostalgia”. Fusing Allegra Hicks artistic intuition with Nilfur’s exhibitory vision this collection is an exploration of time and materials, paying tribute to the creative influence that Naples has had on the art world. The exhibition presents eight intentionally crafted pieces: Two mirrors, Two coffee tables, a console, a chaise lounge, a chandelier, and a rug, all accompanied by “LA GINESTRA”, a tapestry by the artist, that features the broom flower–a symbolic hommage to Mount Vesuvius. 

What we love: The pair of coffee tables that serve as functional art installations–sleek, modern and exuding luxury. With their intricate design and sleek, bright table tops, they embody “Napoli Future Nostalgia” seamlessly, making them a dream piece for any space. 

Allegra Hicks at Nilfur Gallery
April 6—August 31, 2025

Jennifer Guidi: Points on Your Journey

MASSIMODECARLO

Viale Lombardia

Focusing on symbolism through landscape, Jennifer Guidi employs a striking palette of sherbet yellow, vermilion red, and lapis lazuli that blur the boundaries between the natural world and artistic abstraction. In “Points on Your Journey”, Guidi invites viewers into her personal journey, capturing the essence of her observations of the natural world. Her work transforms the act of noticing into an immersive, sensory experience, where time and space seem to warp and shimmer across the canvases, creating a dynamic interplay between the real and the imagined. The exhibition features twelve new works on linen, four painted in Bronze, and a work on paper, alongside some of her more notable works including “The Long Burnished Sun–Glade Waters”. This stunning Portrayal of a coastal shore breaks invites viewers to embody the art of observation, encouraging a deeper connection with both the natural world and art itself. 

What we love: Immersing ourselves in “Draped in Warmth at Dawn”, where every divot and shadow draws you into a landscape that transcends the natural world. 

Jennifer Guidi at MASSIMODECARLO
April 1—May 24, 2025