he Museo Novecento presents Helen Chadwick: life pleasures, the first major exhibition in Italy dedicated to one of the most radical and influential British artists of the second half of the 20th century. The exhibition symbolically opens on November 25, International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, and is organized in collaboration with The Hepworth Wakefield and Kunsthaus Graz, where it will travel after Florence.

The first retrospective of this scale in over twenty-five years, the exhibition traces the entire career of Helen Chadwick (1953–1996), from her early works such as In the kitchen (1977) to her famous Piss flowers (1991–92). An experimental and unconventional artist, Chadwick was able to combine aesthetic beauty with unusual—often grotesque—materials such as bodily fluids, meat, flowers, chocolate, and compost. With irony and a feminist perspective, she redefined the boundaries of sculpture and installation, establishing herself as one of the leading figures of the post-war British avant-garde and, in 1987, one of the first women to be nominated for the Turner Prize.

The retrospective at the Museo Novecento aims to restore Chadwick’s relevance in the international art scene, highlighting her ability to address feminist issues that are still relevant today and to transform material culture with an approach that is always playful and surprising.