Maurizio Cattelan Night exhibition opens in Berlin

Maurizio Cattelan’s solo exhibition “Night” opened this week at Berlin’s Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart, marking the first major retrospective of the Italian provocateur’s work in the city. The show runs through February 2025 and is organized by the museum’s contemporary art department in collaboration with Cattelan’s longtime representatives. Central to the exhibition is the artist’s controversial bronze sculpture of Adolf Hitler, a piece that has circulated in private collections and previously sparked debate when displayed in other European institutions. Alongside it, a life‑size, gaunt horse rendered in a state of exhaustion dominates a dimly lit gallery, while a series of smaller installations and drawings explore motifs of authority, vulnerability and the pervasive uncertainty of modern life.

“Night” assembles works spanning the last three decades of Cattelan’s career, juxtaposing his trademark dark humor with more introspective investigations of power structures and personal doubt. Curator Dr. Anja Müller notes that the exhibition “offers a comprehensive view of Cattelan’s ability to destabilize familiar icons and to question the narratives that sustain them.” By presenting these pieces together, the museum aims to provoke dialogue about the role of art in confronting historical trauma and contemporary anxieties, positioning Cattelan’s oeuvre as both a mirror and a challenge to the cultural climate.