Lonely Are All Bridges

Fondazione ICA Milan opens its 2025 exhibition programme with “Lonely Are All Bridges”, a two-person show curated by artist Maurizio Cattelan and Marta Papini featuring Birgit Jürgenssen and Cinzia Ruggeri.

The exhibition highlights two iconic female artists, Jürgenssen (Vienna, 1949–2003) and Ruggeri (Milan, 1942–2019), who never met but engage in dialogue through their work. The title, from a line by Austrian poet Ingeborg Bachmann, reflects their experimental spirit, challenging artistic boundaries and transforming the everyday with a critical lens.

Both artists, shaped by the late 1940s and 1960s, explored women’s roles in society, identity, and transformation. Their shared fascination with ornament and accessories—as extensions of the body and tools for claiming space—ties the exhibition together, prompting reflection on aesthetics, politics, and identity.
The exhibition offers a fresh perspective on these key contemporary figures. It is realised in collaboration with the Estate Birgit Jürgenssen, Vienna, and the Archivio Cinzia Ruggeri, Milan.