Nan Goldin Embraces Her Cinematic Side in 'This Will Not End Well'
The acclaimed photographer mounts a “village” of most defining works at Milan’s Pirelli HangarBicocca.
Summary
- Acclaimed American photographer Nan Goldin opens This Will Not End Well, her first major European retrospective, at Pirelli HangarBicocca in Milan
- The exhibition features the largest corpus of slideshows presented together, alongside two recent works and the artist’s first sound installation
“I have always wanted to be a filmmaker,” says photographer Nan Goldin. “My slideshows are films made up of stills.” It’s this cinematic sensibility that underpins This Will Not End Well, the first major European retrospective dedicated to Goldin, the filmmaker, now on view at Milan’s Pirelli HangarBicocca. Originally presented at Berlin’s Neue Nationalgalerie, the exhibition traces the evolution of one of contemporary photography’s most influential voices, in an intimate, immersive journey through the world as seen through Goldin’s uncompromisingly empathetic gaze.
Across the cavernous halls of Pirelli, Goldin constructs six pavilions, designed by Hala Wardé – “a village,” as she calls it – each housing its own series. On view are some of her most defining works including her magnum opus, “The Ballad of Sexual Dependency” (1981–2022), and “Sisters, Saints, Sibyls” (2004–2022). The latter is staged in a “Cubo” space, faithful to its original presentation in Paris, down to its chapel-like architecture and wax sculptural additions.
Curated by Roberta Tenconi and Luci Aspesi, the Italian iteration also introduces two recent works shown for the first time in Europe: “Stendhal Syndrome” (2024) and “You Never Did Anything Wrong” (2024), Goldin’s first foray into abstraction. Furthering down this devotional, cinematic path, the show sees the artist’s sound debut with a piece entitled “Bleeding.” Created in collaboration with Soundwalk Collective, the work envelopes audiences in a sonic blanket fusing from ambient recordings made during the show’s previous iterations with her personal noise library.
Photography by Agostino Osio. Courtesy Of The Artist, Gagosian And Pirelli Hangarbicocca
Photography by Agostino Osio. Courtesy Of The Artist, Gagosian And Pirelli Hangarbicocca
Photography by Agostino Osio. Courtesy Of The Artist, Gagosian And Pirelli Hangarbicocca
This Will Not End Well is now on view through February 15, 2026 in Milan. Head to Pirelli HangarBicocca’s website to learn more about the show.
Pirelli HangarBicocca
Via Chiese, 2,
20126 Milano MI, Italy
