We have wonderful news from the powerhouse gallery Hauser & Wirth! The gallery’s presidents Iwan Wirth, Manuela Wirth, and Marc Payot, together with Berlin’s Galerie Isabella Bortolozzi, have announced that they will now jointly represent the estate of the legendary artist Carol Rama.
So, who was Carol Rama, the artist who shattered taboos with her work? Over a career spanning more than seven decades, Rama was a truly radical figure who fearlessly explored difficult themes such as desire, sacrifice, eroticism, and oppression. Growing up under the fascist ideology that dominated Italy and against the rigid rules of society, she built her own visual universe and overturned every imposed norm around gender and sexuality. Firmly believing that crossing boundaries was the only path to liberation, she refused to create any hierarchy between painting, drawing, sculpture, and printmaking — incorporating all of them into her unique creative process. Her own words beautifully capture her passionate spirit:
“My confidence exists only in front of a sheet of paper that needs to be filled. Working is the only way to drive away my fears. My rebellion is simply painting.”
Although she is now recognized as one of the most original and singular artists of the 20th century, international recognition came late for Rama. While she exhibited regularly in Italy, her work sadly found little place on the global contemporary art scene until the late 1990s. Everything changed when a new generation of artists, curators, and critics rediscovered her. The Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement she received at the 2003 Venice Biennale was the most beautiful proof of this belated appreciation. She then cemented her place in art history with major solo exhibitions at prestigious institutions including the Stedelijk Museum (1998), MACBA (2014), Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris (2015), New Museum (2017), and Schirn Kunsthalle (2024).
Now, art lovers have a new reason to be excited. Carol Rama’s first solo exhibition under the Hauser & Wirth umbrella will open in New York in May 2026. We can hardly wait to experience the work of this rebellious and free spirit presented by such a powerful gallery!
