Light and Shadow in Florence Biennale 2025
I’ve always loved art — not just in museums, but wherever it finds me: in a quiet gallery, on a forgotten street corner, or in the play of light through an old window. But this time, I almost missed one of the world’s most fascinating art events: the XV Florence Biennale of Contemporary Art and Design.
In the grand halls of the Fortezza da Basso, I found myself walking through a space where light and darkness, dreams and reality, past and future met in a dialogue that felt deeply personal. The theme this year — the eternal dualism of light and darkness — invited visitors to reflect on these contrasts through visual art, design, and creativity in all its forms.
With 550 artists and designers from 85 countries across five continents, and more than 1,500 exhibited works, the Florence Biennale truly stands as one of the most significant international art events. Missing it would have been a sin for any art lover.
My friend Louise already wrote me, “I can’t believe I’m missing it again!” She arrives next week — too late to see it. And another dear friend, an art historian from the U.S., felt the same regret. We’re a trio bound by our shared love of art, and this Biennale was truly our kind of place.
Tim Burton: Between Dream and Nightmare
This year’s most anticipated guest was none other than Tim Burton, the undisputed master of contrasts — of light and shadow, irony and melancholy, dream and nightmare.
Burton’s world has always felt like walking a thin line between a dream and a nightmare — strange, yet irresistibly beautiful. His iconic films — Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Alice in Wonderland — remind us that oddity can be magical, and that outsiders often become heroes.
The exhibition featured 50 works across five thematic rooms, along with a collection of sketches, notebooks, and drawings curated personally by Burton himself. The experience felt intimate, almost like entering his imagination.
As the lights shifted in each room, so did my emotions — from childlike wonder to quiet melancholy. It was as if I was exploring my own inner labyrinth, reflected through Burton’s lens of fantasy.
The Art of the Instant – Maurizio Galimberti and the Magic of Polaroid
One of the Biennale’s most captivating moments was the conversation between Maurizio Galimberti and Alessandra Denza. The celebrated photographer and “instant artist” shared his personal vision of how a fleeting moment becomes eternal through the Polaroid — when light and shadow meet in perfect harmony.
Galimberti’s Florence is not the postcard kind. It’s a poetic rediscovery of light, geometry, and hidden details, seen through his unmistakable gaze. His work reminded me that art is, above all, the courage to see what others overlook.
Design with Emotion – Patricia Urquiola’s “Transitions”
Another highlight was seeing Patricia Urquiola, the iconic designer, receive the International Leonardo da Vinci Lifetime Achievement Award. Her installation, Transitions, expressed her belief that design is not just about form and function — it’s about emotion, empathy, and harmony between opposites.
Elegant yet technical, rational yet emotional — her work embodies the delicate balance between light and shadow, warmth and coolness, human and material.
Where the World’s Creativity Meets
During those days, the Fortezza da Basso was more than an exhibition venue — it became a crossroads of global creativity. Walking out into the Florentine sunlight afterward, I felt lighter, as if I had left behind a shadow of myself inside those walls.
And perhaps that’s what contemporary art truly does: it doesn’t just show us the world — it helps us see ourselves within it.