Giorgio Morandi. SOLO
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At the Museum of Art Pudong in Shanghai, the largest exhibition ever held abroad dedicated to the artist.
From June 17 to October 28, 2026
From June 17 to October 28, 2026, the Museum of Art Pudong (MAP) in Shanghai presents Giorgio Morandi. Solo (乔治·莫兰迪:独白), the largest and most important exhibition ever held abroad dedicated to Giorgio Morandi, as well as the artist’s first major monographic retrospective in China. Promoted within the framework of the international cultural relations fostered by the City of Bologna and the Morandi Museum, the exhibition represents a project of extraordinary cultural and symbolic significance, strengthening the dialogue between Italy and China through the work of an artist universally recognized for his poetic, silent and deeply radical vision.
Bologna, the city where Morandi lived and worked throughout his life and which today preserves the most important core of his artistic legacy through the Morandi Museum, reaffirms its role as a key player in the development of international cultural relations and in the enhancement of its artistic heritage as a means of intercultural dialogue. As Matteo Lepore, Mayor of Bologna, states: “Bringing to Shanghai the largest exhibition ever organized abroad dedicated to Giorgio Morandi means bringing to the world an essential part of Bologna’s cultural identity. Morandi is one of the artists who most profoundly expresses the relationship between our city and the universal dimension of culture. This project strengthens the dialogue between Bologna and China and confirms the role of culture as a tool for connection, knowledge and international cooperation.”
Li Minkun, President of the Museum of Art Pudong, comments: “The Museum of Art Pudong has always prioritized international cultural and artistic exchange, consistently bringing major artistic resources from around the world to Shanghai. At the same time, we continuously reflect on how an art museum can establish deeper connections with urban life, public aesthetic sensibilities and the cultural needs of its visitors. Our significant collaboration with the Morandi Museum for Giorgio Morandi. Solo marks an important chapter in this ongoing commitment. To help Chinese audiences fully grasp the essence of Morandi’s work, the exhibition offers an innovative spatial experience through its scenographic design. Moving away from conventional exhibition layouts, the show presents masterpieces and original objects in particularly meaningful combinations. By recreating the ‘objects of the paintings’ within the exhibition space, visitors can better understand the geometric compositions on the canvas and truly appreciate Morandi’s brushwork.”
The project forms part of a broader strategy aimed at promoting Bologna’s cultural heritage internationally and confirms the Municipality’s commitment to strengthening the bond between the city, its territory and the figure of Morandi, an essential interpreter of twentieth-century Italian cultural identity.
Curated by Lorenzo Balbi, Director of MAMbo – Museum of Modern Art of Bologna and the Morandi Museum, and Francesco D’Arelli, Director of the Italian Cultural Institute in Shanghai, Giorgio Morandi. Solo features more than 140 works, including paintings, engravings, watercolours and drawings. The exhibition brings together masterpieces rarely shown abroad and, in many cases, never before exhibited in China, offering Asian audiences a comprehensive reappraisal of Morandi’s artistic research through an exceptional body of works distinguished by their quality, breadth and historical significance.
The exhibition includes works restored for the occasion, original materials from the Morandi Museum and Casa Morandi, and an extensive curatorial and museographic project conceived specifically for Shanghai. The new exhibition design, created by Aldo Cibic Workshop, conveys the intimate, contemplative and silent dimension that characterizes the artist’s work.
The title Solo encapsulates the meaning of the project: a major monographic retrospective that places Morandi at the centre of the stage, without comparisons or counterpoints, entrusting his work alone with the task of occupying the exhibition space.
Hosted by the Museum of Art Pudong (MAP), the prestigious museum designed by Ateliers Jean Nouvel on the banks of the Huangpu River, the exhibition addresses an audience that in recent years has shown growing interest in Morandi. In China, his work is the subject of study, collecting and deep admiration, making Shanghai the ideal context for what stands as the most important international presentation ever dedicated to the Bolognese master.
Opened in 2021, MAP has quickly established itself as one of Asia’s leading cultural hubs, thanks to its collaborations with some of the world’s most important museum institutions, including the Galleria Borghese, the Uffizi Galleries, the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, the Musée d’Orsay and the Musée du Louvre.
The project is made possible thanks to a fruitful public-private collaboration developed by the Municipality of Bologna together with MondoMostre, as part of an international programme dedicated to the promotion of Giorgio Morandi. This model aims to strengthen the presence of Morandi’s work in major international museum contexts while, at the same time, supporting the enhancement of Morandi-related sites in Bologna through an integrated strategy that brings together culture, international relations and territorial promotion.
The initiative also looks beyond Shanghai, forming part of a broader international journey dedicated to Morandi that will subsequently continue in Seoul, confirming Asia’s growing interest in one of the great masters of twentieth-century Italian art.
Giorgio Morandi. Solo thus represents not only a major international exhibition project, but also a new stage in the global promotion of Morandi’s legacy. It is a project that strengthens Bologna’s role as the city that preserves the artist’s work and relaunches his presence within the leading international cultural scenes.
Special thanks to the institutional partners: Shanghai Lujiazui East Bund Culture Development Co., Ltd., Consulate General of Italy in Shanghai, Italian Cultural Institute in Shanghai, Ministry of Culture – Directorate-General for Museums.
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