Guests of Honor Revealed for the Florence Biennale: At the Fortezza da Basso from October 18 to 26
Florence, July 16th, 2025. Fortezza da Basso is set to host the 15th edition of the Florence Biennale, the international exhibition of contemporary art and design, from October 18th to 26th.
This edition’s theme, The Sublime Essence of Light and Darkness. Concepts of Dualism and Unity in Contemporary Art and Design, explores the many facets of dualisms that shape human experience: light and shadow, good and evil, the visible and the invisible. Through a dialogue between visual arts, film and design, the exhibition aims to spark reflection on the harmonies and dissonances generated between opposing forces.
Among the Guests of Honor, personally invited by the organizers for their internationally recognized artistic contributions: Nicole Albagli Iruretagoyena, a Chilean jewelry designer whose work lies at the intersection of nature and industry, drawing from her background in industrial design. Swedish photographer Gabriel Isak will showcase his works, which explore dreamlike dimensions, surreal visions, psychology and romanticism.
Italian artist Andrea Prandi, winner of the “Lorenzo il Magnifico” award from the Biennale in 2015, will present his installation entitled LIFE >< LINE, dedicated to the dualistic thought composed of both rationality and emotion, and more broadly to the dual forces present in nature. Completing the group of featured artists is Emily Young, described by the Financial Times as “Britain’s greatest living stone sculptor”.
The Florence Biennale will also pay tribute to two prominent Italian artists who recently passed away: Oliviero Leonardi, painter, sculptor and ceramist, who will receive the Lorenzo il Magnifico Award “in memoriam”, and Mario Pachioli, a renowned artist and sculptor known for designing the medal that has become the symbol of the event.
Special projects will enrich the 15th edition of the Biennale, including the Italian premiere of DIE HÖHENLUFT – FÜR ALLE UND KEINEN (The Pure Mountain Air – For Everyone and No One) by Mika’Ela Fisher (Germany), a film closely inspired by Nietzsche’s “Thus Spoke Zarathustra”; the short film MILK TEETH – Being Girls in Afghanistan by Amin Meerzad (Afghanistan), focusing on the difficult journey of an Afghan girl frightened by the process of growing up as she loses her baby teeth; TANGO EN PENUMBRAS (Tango in the Shadows) by Teresa Mular (Argentina), featuring a blind man who discovers a ray of light through tango; and finally, THE SACRED ART MOVEMENT by Olusola Otori (Nigeria) and NEAR LIGHT by Niccolò Salvato (Italy/UK).