Adrian Ghenie views Rome through a whimsical lens Previously unseen works on display at Palazzo Poli
From September 25 to November 15, 2026, Palazzo Poli, home of the Istituto Centrale per la Grafica in Rome, will host Capricci romani, an exhibition dedicated to Adrian Ghenie (b. 1977, Baia Mare, Romania). The project, conceived by Alessandra Borghese, is sponsored by the Ghenie Chapels Foundation – Patronage for the Arts and the Istituto Centrale per la Grafica, and is curated by Fabio De Chirico and Pier Paolo Pancotto. The exhibition brings together previously unseen works on paper and cardboard created specifically for the project and centered on the artist’s relationship with Rome, its landscape, and its memory.
Ghenie also lives and works in the capital, where he has his own studio along the Via Appia. The context in which he works—marked by the presence of aqueducts, ancient ruins, and the Roman countryside alongside the contemporary city—serves as the starting point for an exploration of the invented landscape. The work engages with a long lineage in European art history, ranging from the idealized and classical landscapes of the 17th century to subsequent Romantic and modern interpretations of nature and ruins.
In particular, the artist draws on the tradition of the “capriccio” and the legacy of Giovanni Battista Piranesi—a genre in which real and imaginary elements are juxtaposed to construct recognizable scenes without being strictly descriptive. Rome is thus used as a source of memory and reinvention, simultaneously a real place and a mental space. The encounter with classical beauty and Roman culture creates a short circuit between past and present: the goal is not to nostalgically revive the ancient canon, but to transform it into a contemporary language. The “Roman Capricci” take shape precisely from this tension, offering a personal and ironic reinterpretation of the genre.
Ruins, too, play a central role. In a contemporary world characterized by technology and the ceaseless production of images, they become for Ghenie a sort of memento mori: traces of a bygone era that continue to challenge the present. The drawings are populated by invented architectures, ancient fragments, and fantastical apparitions; the artist himself sometimes appears in the works as the protagonist and guide on an imaginary journey through the city.
