Image: Raclin Murphy Museum of Art, New York
The Raclin Murphy Museum of Art will present ‘Mimmo Paladino: Present into Past,’ a survey of the Italian artist’s career, from September 1 through December 13, 2026. Organized by the museum, the exhibition will be held in the Temporary Galleries at the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art in Notre Dame, Indiana, and will bring together paintings and sculptures alongside material focused on Paladino’s engagement with literature, the art of the book and religious commissions.
The exhibition is structured in three sections. The first will provide an overview of Paladino’s repertoire through paintings and sculptures, positioning his work within broader currents of art history. A subsequent section will examine his interest in literature and bookmaking through illustrations, including his illustrations for the Roman Messale for Pope Francis. The final section will focus on the commission and creation of the museum’s Mary, Queen of Families Chapel.
That chapel is central to the exhibition’s account of Paladino’s work at the University of Notre Dame. The artist created its mosaic, stained-glass and wall drawings, and the exhibition will include the premiere presentation of unique handmade vestments that Paladino donated to the museum and the university. The presentation will place his liturgical work alongside a wider practice that also encompasses installations, films, prints and illustrations.
Paladino, born in 1948 and born and trained in southern Italy, first gained critical attention in the 1980s as a member of the Transavanguardia movement. The movement’s artists sought a renewal of figurative art and experimented with materials after successive waves of abstraction in the United States and Europe. The museum describes Paladino as a leading figure of the Italian avant-garde. His work is held in collections including those of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Tate Modern and the Vatican Museums.
The exhibition’s featured works include ‘Untitled / Senza Titolo’ from 2012, a mixed-media painting measuring 118 by 295 inches, or 300 by 749 centimeters. The museum’s exhibition page also identifies ‘Rightly Fallen (Saint Francis) / Caduto a Ragione (San Francesco),’ a 1995 bronze measuring 85.83 by 38.19 by 23.23 inches. Both examples reflect the exhibition’s effort to connect Paladino’s large-scale visual language with his continuing interest in history, spiritual traditions, literature and dream imagery.
Although commissions from the Vatican and Notre Dame have brought particular attention to Paladino’s religious work, the museum states that he is not exclusively a religious artist. ‘Present into Past’ instead presents his liturgical production as part of a broader oeuvre shaped by Italy’s artistic heritage, its people and traditions. The exhibition is made possible by a grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. A members’ opening event is scheduled for August 30, ahead of the public run from September 1 to December 13; the museum is free and open to all.
