If your first thought while living in Ticino is the mountains, still you want to experience something alternative, here is a selection of the best artistic attractions that will lead you to discover original cultural highlights, photographic exhibitions, and museums, all set in a breath-taking context!

A mountain of art 2021 / 2022, Alpe Foppa Monte Tamaro
01.06. 2021 - 6.11.2022

Immersing oneself in the many facets of art and its profound communicative spirit might be difficult for many. However, almost paradoxically, this silent language used by works of art can seduce enthusiasts and experts as well as the more disinterested. This is the case when visiting Monte Tamaro and the 12 monumental sculptures by Riccardo Cordero, carefully scattered throughout this beautiful Alpine landscape.
www.myswitzerland.com

My Generoso. A Mountain as a Friend, Monte Generoso
03.04- 30.06.2022

This highly original exhibition by Yuri Catania consists of photographic works exhibited directly on the summit of Monte Generoso, but partly also of 3D virtual creations obtained from traditional photographs subsequently tokenized in NTF. The entire artistic production is directly inspired by the mountain visible from the artist's studio, which, with the natural passing of the seasons, lays the foundations for the colours of these works, which vary from shades of spring green to the yellow-red tones of autumn, passing through the winter whites that recall the beauty of the snow-covered Monte Generoso.
www.myswitzerland.com

Gabriela Spector. Hugs and Abandonments, Museo Casa Rusca Locarno
10.04. - 17.07.2022

The starting point of this original artistic production by Gabriela Spector is what everyone has experienced over the past two years: days when time seemed to have been suspended. The exhibition aims to annul the physical distances imposed by the pandemic, through subjects that represent letting go in a tight embrace and abandoning oneself completely to re-emerge completely regenerated. Thus, Hugs and Abandonment perfectly sums up the creative process Gabriela Spector has pursued for more than thirty years.
museocasarusca.ch

Extra-Ordinary, Gandria Wine Cellar Museum, Gandria
10.04. - 23.10.2022

When the Covid-19 pandemic took hold in spring 2020, leading to the closure of Switzerland's borders, all those working with the FCA (Federal Customs Administration) were also placed under considerable strain. Hence the idea of documenting the entire work of the FCA staff during these pandemic phases, finally putting a face to the extraordinary work of the employees. Seventeen themes were chosen to document this situation; there are pictures, texts, and films from every corner of Switzerland.
The design is also based on the colours used by the Federal Office of Public Health in the posters dedicated to the coronavirus during the first 6 months of the pandemic.
www.myswitzerland.com

Michelangelo 3D, Sasso Corbaro Castle, Bellinzona
02.04.- 15.08.2022

This exhibition can engage all those who are about to embark on it, through traditional representations, and by exploiting the potential offered by modern technology. You will be catapulted into the past, directly into the most significant period of art history. Moreover, the visitor will be fully involved in Michelangelo's universe, consequently amid the Italian Renaissance.
All this is made possible through didactic video panels and by using virtual and augmented reality.
www.myswitzerland.com

Sentiment and Observation Art in Ticino 1850-1950
9.05.2021 - 04.10.2023

Within the numerous collections of the MASI, the contemporary history of visual art originating in Ticino is represented.
It is not only the result of the artistic production of this region of Switzerland, but, since the 19th century, has been formed by artists, dealers, scholars, and collectors who chose Ticino as their home. In these collections, one can see what characterises this canton, namely a Latin identity embedded in the political administration of the Swiss federal state.
www.myswitzerland.com

JAPAN. Arts and Life. The Montgomery Collection, MUSEC - Museo delle Culture, Lugano
10.02.2022 - 08.01.2023

This exhibition, spread over two floors of the MUSEC premises, presents visitors with the beauty of 170 works from different eras, ranging from the 12th to the 20th century. Japan Arts and Life can offer a multitude of objects ranging from textiles to paintings, through furniture to objects of everyday life and worship, carefully selected from the more than 1,000 items collected by Jeffrey Montgomery during his lifetime.
This renowned collection is extraordinarily rich, offering the beauty of oriental work combined with popular culture.
www.myswitzerland.com

Vito Noto. Forty years of graphics and design. The Sense of Ideas, Cultural Centre, Chiasso
08.05. - 11.09.2022

The exhibition dedicated to Vito Noto represents the artistic current of so-called contemporary graphics. In this regard, the m.a.x, the museum of the city of Chiasso, presents - as a preview - the anthological exhibition of the 40-year career of this Italian designer adopted by Switzerland. The exhibition aims to cover this artist's entire professional and creative process and includes more than 100 pieces belonging to industrial, product, and visual design, respectively.
www.centroculturalechiasso.ch

Lovis Corinth Master of Colour - Master of Graphics, Museo Comunale d'Arte Moderna, Ascona
15.05. - 04.09.2022

During this exhibition, visitors will be able to appreciate the artistic expression of Lovis Corinth. This artist was able to shape numerous works belonging to painting, including many watercolours, drawings and an important work dedicated to the graphic arts. Moreover, the themes proposed by the artist in his paintings - i.e. still lifes, nudes, religious and mythological subjects, landscapes and portraits - can be found in his prints. There will also be in-depth analysis and research into self-portraiture.
www.museoascona.ch

James Barnor Accra / London - A Restrospective, MASI Palazzo Reali, Lugano
13.05. - 31.07.2022

James Barnor's work traverses several epochal changes in his home country of Africa extraordinarily. Barnor, during his long career, was able to witness the independence of Ghana, the African diaspora, and many social changes of the time, right up to the lifestyles of the African community in London during the 1960s.
For this reason, MASI Lugano, is pleased to present to the public the most extensive retrospective dedicated to this extraordinary photographer of our time recently rediscovered and enhanced.
www.luganolac.ch

From life 19th century Swiss photography, LAC Museum, Lugano
03.04. - 03.07.2022

The photographic exhibition 'From Life' represents for the first time a comprehensive overview of the first fifty years of photography in Switzerland. The exhibition includes an extraordinary selection of shots from various private and public collections that provide a unique testimony to the social, economic and, above all, artistic role of this invention that we take for granted nowadays. An event not to be missed if you are interested in photography and its history.
www.luganolac.ch

The Vincenzo Vela Museum, Ligornetto
Permanent exhibition

This extraordinary museum is one of the most prestigious European artists' houses dating from the 19th century. The brainchild of the sculptor Vincenzo Vela during the height of his career, the house only became a museum after Vela decided to donate it to Switzerland. It still houses the endowments of the painter Spartaco Vela and the sculptor Lorenzo Vela. Today's layout offers the best selection of the original one desired by the creator himself, including several sculptures cleverly distributed according to precise themes in all the rooms.
www.museo-vela.ch

Ticino holds many surprises in store for its visitors, surprises that go far beyond spectacular landscapes and good food. These wonders are just waiting to be discovered.

Enjoy your journey through art in Ticino by Pamela