1+1 The relational years

A dynamic itinerary transforms MAXXI into a hub of relationships, conviviality, and interaction.
“1+1. The Relational Years” is the first major retrospective dedicated to the Relational Art movement—three decades after its inception—curated by internationally renowned critic and curator Nicolas Bourriaud.

In the 1990s, a new generation of artists revolutionises the discourse of art by opening it up to human relationships, exploring the collective sphere, and using social practices, conviviality, interaction, groups, and communities as both materials and tools of research. The concept of Relational Aesthetics, theorised by Bourriaud in 1998, is now recognised as one of the major artistic movements of the new millennium, with its artists acclaimed worldwide. Proximity, conviviality, micro-utopias, and participatory processes unite the research of the 45 artists on display, including Vanessa Beecroft, Maurizio Cattelan, Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, Carsten Höller, Pierre Huyghe, Philippe Parreno, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Angela Bulloch, Liam Gillick, Douglas Gordon, Gabriel Orozco, Santiago Sierra, and Felix Gonzalez-Torres.

At a time when most relationships take place through screens and digital media, relational art invites us to rediscover the human dimension of encounter. The museum becomes a living, permeable space where art happens and is continually renewed through the participation of those who experience it.