ARTISTS
Nan Goldin: This Will Not End Well
From October 11, 2025 to February 15, 2026, Pirelli HangarBicocca will present 鈥淭his Will Not End Well,鈥� the first exhibition dedicated to the work of Nan Goldin as a filmmaker. The Italian iteration reunites the biggest corpus of slideshows ever presented together, featuring two additional works, displayed in a museum context for the first time in Europe, alongside a new commission, an immersive sound installation that resonate the emotional impact of Goldin鈥檚 installations.
The retrospective is installed in unique buildings designed by Hala Ward茅, an architect who frequently works with Goldin. Each building is designed in response to the specific piece. Together they constitute a village. While the title of the exhibition 鈥淭his Will Not End Well鈥� may seem dark and foreboding, it is also full of ironic humour and warmth. The title is an affirmation of Goldin鈥檚 鈥檆haracteristically unshakeable joie de vivre.鈥�
The exhibition is comprised of: The Ballad of Sexual Dependency (1981鈥�2022) her magnum opus; The Other Side (1992鈥� 2021) a historical portrait produced as an homage to her trans friends whom she photographed from 1972 to 2010; Sisters, Saints, Sibyls (2004鈥�2022) a testament to the trauma of families and suicide; Fire Leap (2010鈥�2022) a foray into the world of children; Memory Lost (2019鈥�2021) a claustrophobic journey through drug withdrawal; and Sirens (2019鈥�2020) a trip into drug ecstasy. In Milan, the installation Sisters, Saints, Sibyls (2004鈥�2022) will be presented inside the 鈥淐ubo,鈥� a space whose dimensions and ceiling height鈥攔ising over 20 meters鈥攃losely resemble the architectural nature and verticality of La Chapelle de la Salp锚tri猫re in Paris, where the work was originally commissioned and shown in 2004. The installation at Pirelli HangarBicocca will be restaged in a form faithful to the original, including the sculptural elements, visible from an elevated viewing platform.
For the exhibition in Pirelli HangarBicocca two additional slideshows will be included: You Never Did Anything Wrong (2024), Goldin鈥檚 first abstract work, born from an ancient myth that an eclipse is caused by animals stealing the sun, is a poetic meditation on life, death and the natural cycles that connect all beings. And Stendhal Syndrome (2024), based on six different myths from Ovid鈥檚 Metamorphosis that are brought to life by Goldin鈥檚 portraits of her friends, in a visual dialogue across time between the artist鈥檚 personal experience and her photographs of paintings and sculptures from museums around the world.
Furthermore, the retrospective in the Navate will open with a new sound installation by the experimental sound art collective Soundwalk Collective, conceived in close collaboration with the artist as a prelude that guides visitors into Goldin鈥檚 symbolic village of slideshows.
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From October 11, 2025 to February 15, 2026, Pirelli HangarBicocca will present 鈥淭his Will Not End Well,鈥� the first exhibition dedicated to the work of Nan Goldin as a filmmaker. The Italian iteration reunites the biggest corpus of slideshows ever presented together, featuring two additional works, displayed in a museum context for the first time in Europe, alongside a new commission, an immersive sound installation that resonate the emotional impact of Goldin鈥檚 installations.
The retrospective is installed in unique buildings designed by Hala Ward茅, an architect who frequently works with Goldin. Each building is designed in response to the specific piece. Together they constitute a village. While the title of the exhibition 鈥淭his Will Not End Well鈥� may seem dark and foreboding, it is also full of ironic humour and warmth. The title is an affirmation of Goldin鈥檚 鈥檆haracteristically unshakeable joie de vivre.鈥�
The exhibition is comprised of: The Ballad of Sexual Dependency (1981鈥�2022) her magnum opus; The Other Side (1992鈥� 2021) a historical portrait produced as an homage to her trans friends whom she photographed from 1972 to 2010; Sisters, Saints, Sibyls (2004鈥�2022) a testament to the trauma of families and suicide; Fire Leap (2010鈥�2022) a foray into the world of children; Memory Lost (2019鈥�2021) a claustrophobic journey through drug withdrawal; and Sirens (2019鈥�2020) a trip into drug ecstasy. In Milan, the installation Sisters, Saints, Sibyls (2004鈥�2022) will be presented inside the 鈥淐ubo,鈥� a space whose dimensions and ceiling height鈥攔ising over 20 meters鈥攃losely resemble the architectural nature and verticality of La Chapelle de la Salp锚tri猫re in Paris, where the work was originally commissioned and shown in 2004. The installation at Pirelli HangarBicocca will be restaged in a form faithful to the original, including the sculptural elements, visible from an elevated viewing platform.
For the exhibition in Pirelli HangarBicocca two additional slideshows will be included: You Never Did Anything Wrong (2024), Goldin鈥檚 first abstract work, born from an ancient myth that an eclipse is caused by animals stealing the sun, is a poetic meditation on life, death and the natural cycles that connect all beings. And Stendhal Syndrome (2024), based on six different myths from Ovid鈥檚 Metamorphosis that are brought to life by Goldin鈥檚 portraits of her friends, in a visual dialogue across time between the artist鈥檚 personal experience and her photographs of paintings and sculptures from museums around the world.
Furthermore, the retrospective in the Navate will open with a new sound installation by the experimental sound art collective Soundwalk Collective, conceived in close collaboration with the artist as a prelude that guides visitors into Goldin鈥檚 symbolic village of slideshows.
Artists on show
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In her latest solo exhibition, American photographer Nan Goldin immerses viewers in the intimate highs and lows of the human experience鈥攏ot as voyeurs or consumers, but as witnesses through her expertly artistic and empathetic lens.
Bottles, supermarket trolleys, strollers, shoelaces, panels, signs, videos, huge installations, bricks, transparent beads, fishing nets, kerosene cans, mattresses...
From October 11, 2025 to February 15, 2026, Pirelli HangarBicocca presents "This Will Not End Well," the first exhibition dedicated to the work of Nan Goldin as a filmmaker.
Spectacularizing the everyday, normalizing what society has turned into spectacle: Nan Goldin鈥檚 aesthetic and political innovation is rooted in this reversal of perspective.
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