Nan Goldin. This Will Not End Well
Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milan
From October 11th, 2025 until February 15th, 2026
This Will Not End Well is the first retrospective dedicated to Nan Goldin’s work as a filmmaker. Curated by Roberta Tenconi with Lucia Aspesi, the exhibition features the most extensive collection of her slideshows ever presented, including two recent works shown for the first time in Europe, and a new sound installation by Soundwalk Collective. A visual and acoustic journey unfolds across a series of architectural pavilions designed by Hala Wardé, each housing one of Goldin’s works.
The title—This Will Not End Well—ironically evokes a sense of precariousness, while also reflecting the artist’s unwavering vitality. Goldin’s recurring themes—identity, trauma, friendship, and addiction—are explored through some of her most iconic works: The Ballad of Sexual Dependency, The Other Side, Sisters, Saints and Sibyls, Fire Leap, Memory Lost and Sirens. Notably, Sisters, Saints and Sibylsis displayed in the “Cubo”, an installation echoing the Chapelle de la Salpêtrière in Paris, complete with an elevated viewing platform and sculptural elements. Nan Goldin is one of the most influential artists of her generation. Presenting her past works, starting with The Ballad of Sexual Dependency, is essential, as they redefined photography as an intimate, political, and narrative act. Over the years, Goldin expanded her practice by incorporating voices, video, and archival material, transforming her slideshows into ever-evolving cinematic narratives.
“It’s not meant to be threatening. t’s about mortality and, unless you have embraced death, ‘this will not end well’ applies to everyone.”
This exhibition also introduces her latest works, You Never Did Anything Wrong and Stendhal Syndrome (both 2024), which explore, respectively, the natural cycles of life and the myths from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, blending personal memory with images of artworks from museums around the world. The exhibition opens with an immersive soundtrack, created in close collaboration with Soundwalk Collective, using field recordings captured during previous iterations of the show across Europe. It serves as both introduction and integral part of the experience. This Will Not End Well is a visual and sonic journey through the layers of human experience, an invitation to be moved by the radical, compassionate gaze of one of the most courageous artists of our time.
For further information pirellihangarbicocca.org.
