Peggy Guggenheim Collection 2026: from Guggenheim Jeune to Fucina degli Angeli

In 2026, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice dedicates its exhibition programme to two pivotal chapters in the cultural history and collecting practices of the twentieth century: the London gallery Guggenheim Jeune and the visionary experience of the Fucina degli Angeli.

AnnieVasily Kandinsky (1866-1944), Curva dominante (Dominant Curve) Aprile 1936, Olio su tela 129.2 x 194.3 cm, Museo Solomon R. Guggenheim, New York, New York, Fondazione Solomon, R. Guggenheim, New York

Two distinct yet deeply interconnected projects that highlight Peggy Guggenheim’s role as a catalyst for relationships, ideas and experimentation, always in dialogue with the museum’s permanent collection.

Opening the season, from 25 April to 19 October 2026, is Peggy Guggenheim in London. The Making of a Collector, the most extensive museum exhibition ever devoted to the brief but decisive adventure of the Guggenheim Jeune gallery. Curated by Gražina Subelytė and Simon Grant, the exhibition focuses on Peggy Guggenheim’s London years between 1938 and 1939, a formative period in which she shaped her vision and method as a collector, forging connections with key figures such as Marcel Duchamp, Mary Reynolds and Samuel Beckett.

Sophie Taeuber-Arp (1889-1943), Equilibrio (Equilibre) 1932, Olio su tela 41.7 x 33.5 cm Stiftung Arp e. V., Berlino/Rolandswerth

In little more than a year of activity, Guggenheim Jeune became a major reference point for the European avant-garde, hosting over twenty pioneering exhibitions: from Vasily Kandinsky’s first solo show in London to a monographic exhibition on Jean Cocteau, from the first UK group exhibition dedicated to collage to a controversial presentation of contemporary sculpture. The Venetian exhibition brings together around one hundred works from major international museums and private collections, alongside archival materials that convey the atmosphere of intense cultural experimentation on the eve of the Second World War. After Venice, the exhibition will travel to the Royal Academy of Arts in London and subsequently to the Guggenheim Museum in New York, underlining its international scope.

Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), Bacco 2 (Rosso), 1954-60, Vetro soffiato pagliesco con applicazioni a caldo di vetro rosso e acquamare 37,5 x 30 x 20 cm (wooden base 15 x diam. 17,5 cm), Kunstmuseum Walter, Augusta, © Succession Picasso, by SIAE 2026

In autumn, from 14 November 2026 to 29 March 2027, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection will present Fucina degli Angeli. Peggy Guggenheim and Twentieth-Century Artistic Glass, curated by Cristina Beltrami. The exhibition sheds light on one of the most fascinating chapters of post-war Murano glassmaking: the Fucina degli Angeli, founded in the 1950s by Egidio Costantini as a collaborative workshop between master glassmakers and international artists. More than one hundred glass works, together with drawings and historical documents, recount a season of experimentation that involved figures such as Picasso, Calder, Braque, Léger, Fontana and numerous Japanese artists.

Peggy Guggenheim played a decisive role in supporting and promoting this venture, fostering its international reach and facilitating dialogue with the American context. The exhibition places the glass works in conversation with paintings and sculptures by the artists involved, revealing the complexity of a project that redefined the boundaries between art and craftsmanship.

Peggy Guggenheim Collection

Dorsoduro 701, 30123 Venezia

25 aprile 2026 - 19 ottobre 2026