In 2022, over 381,000 people visited the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. After the success of the exhibition dedicated to Surrealism and magic, the museum now looks forward to two solo shows celebrating two great twentieth-century artists: Edmondo Bacci and Marcel Duchamp.

Venice, January 20, 2023 – In 2022 the Peggy Guggenheim Collection registered more than 381,000 visitors during the 314 days it was open. A daily average of 1,215 visitors marked a 65% increase compared to 2021, a year in which the pandemic forced the museum to limit visitor access and briefly close. This extraordinary attendance was then increased by the over 4,000 people who visited the collection during inaugurations, institutional, corporate, and private events, as well as the over 7,000 who participated in public and accessibility programs, Kids Days, and tours related to A scuola di Guggenheim. Finally, the Surrealism and Magic: Enchanted Modernity exhibition—a huge success with the public and the press—registered approximately 216,000 visitors over the course of the 147 days it was open.

“2022 has been a year of rebirth for us,” affirms Director Karole P. B. Vail. “After two troubled and uncertain years that forced us to be very cautious in opening the gates of Palazzo Venier dei Leoni—first granting access only to the permanent collection, then organizing a single, extraordinary exhibition such as Surrealism and Magic: Enchanted Modernity—we can now look forward to the new year with renewed optimism and confidence. In 2023, two temporary exhibitions will open alongside Peggy Guggenheim’s collection, celebrating two major figures in the history of twentieth-century art, both represented in the collection: Edmondo Bacci and Marcel Duchamp. As usual, both exhibitions will be enhanced by free collateral events and public, accessibility, and inclusivity programs for all visitors and our members.”

The first exhibition will open on April 1: Edmondo Bacci: Energy and Light, organized by Chiara Bertola, Curator and Manager of Contemporary Art Projects, Fondazione Querini Stampalia, Venice. Thus, the museum continues its tradition of celebrating the main figures of Italian, post-war art alongside exhibitions with an international scope, with artists such as Lucio Fontana, Giuseppe Capogrossi, Tancredi Parmeggiani, and now Edmondo Bacci. With approximately 80 works, including paintings and unpublished works on paper, on loan from national and international museums and private collections, this is the first comprehensive retrospective dedicated to the Venetian artist Edmondo Bacci (1913–1978), one of finest representatives of Venetian art together with, among others, Tancredi Parmeggiani and Emilio Vedova. The year will continue with a tribute to Marcel Duchamp (1887–1968): Marcel Duchamp and the Lure of the Copy (October 14, 2023–March 18, 2024), organized by independent scholar and Duchamp expert Paul B. Franklin. An eclectic and multifaceted artist, Duchamp was also a friend and advisor to Peggy Guggenheim. Among his works in the collection, Box in a Valise (1935–41) will be the focus of this exhibition aimed at redefining the concept of original and copy in the artist’s production. Important loans from prestigious Italian and U.S. museums, as well as from various private collections, will also be on view, including 30 works from the collection of Attilio Codognato. Both exhibitions will be accompanied by a rich program of free events and activities inspired by the works on view and designed for the museum’s different audiences—children, adults, and Genzers.

In 2023, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection will continue its Thursdays for Venetians, granting free admission, on Thursdays, from 2 pm to 6 pm, to residents or those born in the City of Venice, as well as to students at Venetian universities and vocational schools recognized by the Veneto region (Accademia di Belle Arti, IUAV, Università Ca’ Foscari, Conservatorio Benedetto Marcello, Venice International University, Accademia Teatrale Carlo Goldoni), and Adult Learning Centers (C.P.I.A.) and Universities of the Third Age in the City in Venice. Booking on the museum website will be required.

The exhibitions, public programs, and inclusion and accessibility activities carry out the museum’s mission to educate an ever-larger and more engaged community, promoting the spread of modern art and its own educational and social role. To this end, it is worth mentioning the new online art history course for members, Art Effect: How Art can Encourage Conscious, Sustainable Living, starting on January 23, and held by Alessandra Montalbetti, Pinacoteca di Brera. The four lectures will examine how artists and their works of art engage with issues such as climate change, peace, justice, reducing inequalities, and sustainable development, offering answers and new perspectives on topics that should be a primary concern for all.