GIAN MARIA TOSATTI | Exercises in Empathy: Spiritual Machines | Triennale d'Arte delle Università Cattoliche | Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore di Milano

The exhibition The Story of Public Art in Denmark traces the evolution of art in public spaces, exploring how artworks shape collective memory, urban identity, and social interaction beyond traditional museum walls. Within this narrative,Alfredo Jaar's work — renowned globally for his site-specific public interventions, such as his landmark project The Cloud created for the US-Mexico border and featured in Nordic exhibition contexts — serves as a vital benchmark for understanding public art as a powerful catalyst for civic engagement, political critique, and shared historical memory.

• Koge, Denmark
• Museum of Art in Public Space

The exhibition I Feel You, hosted at the Kunstmuseum Bonn, investigates empathy, compassion, and emotional connection through contemporary art, questioning how the capacity to share another's feelings can serve as both an aesthetic and a political act. Within this framework, Alfredo Jaar's work places the ethical engagement of the viewer at its core when confronting the pain and inequalities of today's world. Through his installation, Jaar transforms empathy from a mere emotional reaction into a moment of critical awareness, compelling the audience to face their individual responsibility towards social injustice and global human tragedy.

• Bonn, Germany
• Kunstmuseum Bonn

The exhibition Collection Focus: Anchors of Light, hosted at the Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami (MOCA),explores light as a material, metaphorical, and spiritual element through a curated selection of key works from its permanent collection. Within this showcase, Alfredo Jaar's work Fading (1991) plays a central role: a powerful lightbox installation that investigates themes of visibility, oblivion, and the ethical responsibility of images when confronting human tragedy. By using light not merely as a medium but as a tool for social critique, Jaar's piece transforms the gallery space into an area of critical contemplation, prompting visitors to reflect on how mass media represents and consumes the suffering of others.

• North Miami
• Museum of Contemporary Art

The Tell Me Where Home Is exhibition, hosted at the Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg in Germany (curated by Uta Ruhkamp),investigates the concepts of belonging, migration, and homeland in the 21st century, exploring how the notion of "home" is shaped by both personal experiences and political and social dynamics. Within this context, the work by Chilean artist Alfredo Jaar, titled One Million German Passports, particularly stands out. The installation consists of a massive stack of one million blank, official German passports sealed inside a bulletproof glass enclosure. Through this powerful visual intervention, Jaar highlights how citizenship and the sense of belonging to a place are not merely emotional issues, but are rigidly determined by bureaucracy, borders, and official political decisions.

• Wolfsburg, Germany
• Kunstmuseum, Wolfsburg

The UNDER A SKY OF STARS. Constellation of Art, Sciences, and Cultures exhibition, curated by Fortunato D'Amico, is an exhibition project that weaves together artistic languages, scientific discoveries, and cultural knowledge to explore the ancestral fascination of the cosmos. Through installations and works by contemporary artists, the journey investigates the deep bond between humanity and the universe, prompting reflection on our place in nature. The curation guides visitors through a true "constellation" of ideas,transforming stargazing into an interdisciplinary, poetic, and insightful experience.

• Chatillon
• Castello Gamba
• 23 – 18 ottobre 2026

The Exercises in Empathy: Spiritual Machines exhibition, hosted at the Università Cattolica in Milan as part of Art Cut 2026 is  promoted by the Holy See's Dicastery for Culture and Education. The exhibition explores empathy and interiority in the age of artificial intelligence by bringing the university's historic spaces into dialogue with works by major international artists. Among these, Respiro by Gian Maria Tosattistands out—an installation rich in memory and spiritual depth that invites visitors to engage in a profound exercise of listening, contemplation, and reconnection with the Others.

• Milan, Italy
• Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
• 20 novembre 2026