Discover the Best Exhibitions in Europe in 2023

For mind blowing cultural events and spectacular exhibitions worth crossing an ocean to see, we reveal the best exhibitions in Europe in 2023.

Nothing can surpass the anticipation of a new diary, its crisp, clean pages – untouched and full of promise. Fill your diary with the best art exhibitions and cultural happenings for the New Year. From seesaw sculpture to immersive art, Europe is abuzz with displays of wonder, waiting to be discovered.

Berlin: Monument to Freedom and Unity

Humboldt Forum | Spring 2023

To be inaugurated in the New Year, the big reveal of this poignant memorial and social sculpture is a much awaited event in the cultural heart of Berlin. Highlighting how unity and freedom are not static conditions, this giant walkable steel bowl is something to be experienced. Symbolising unification after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the modern sculpture is designed to gently tilt when 20 people or more stand on one end of it.

Three minutes by car from Hotel de Rome

Munich: Nicole Eisenman: What happened

Museum Brandhorst | 24 March 2023 until 10 September 2023

This celebration of one of today’s most bold contemporary artists, Nicole Eisenman, will guide you through three decades of the sculptor and painter’s spectrum of work. Known for questioning heteronormative ideas within social and political regimes, Eisenman’s work continues to push boundaries and reflect on human internal moments of conflict. Exploring various mediums and monumental murals which dismantle traditional notions of the ideal body image, the queer lens of the exhibition holds great social relevance in themes of identity politics.

Five minutes by car from The Charles Hotel

Rome: Territories of performance: processes and practices in Italy (1967-1982)

MAXXI Museum | Until 28th May 2023

Setting the stage for a journey through the experimental age of theatre in Italy, you can explore visual accounts of artistic practices at the archive wall. Unveiling formal and alternative spaces of performance, the exhibition delves into themes of identity and self-representation in considering the centrality of the body in this period of exploration. 

Discover how the use of photographs, drawings, videos and recordings of oral testimonies became creative strategies of resistance and assertion over 15 years.

10 minutes by car from Hotel de Russie

Florence: Reaching for the Stars

Palazzo Strozzi | 4th March to 18th June 2023

An exploration of the most important trends in art in the last 40 years, leading international contemporary artists such as Sarah Lucas, Damien Hirst and Cindy Sherman celebrate the 30th anniversary of the important Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Collection. Look through a galaxy of works across all spaces of Palazzo Strozzi, spilling out into the palace’s Renaissance courtyard. Celebrate this joyful union and juxtapositioning of the 17th century Palazzo Strozzi and leading lights of contemporary art.

Three minutes on foot from Hotel Savoy

London: David Hockney: Bigger & Closer (not smaller & further away)

Lightroom | 25th January until 23rd April 2023 (initial booking)

Continually fascinated by the endless possibilities of media and visual art, David Hockney – one of the most influential living artists of the 20th century – gives life to an immersive experience. Harmonising the physical realm with the digital, this exhibition guides you through a selection of the artist’s most iconic paintings and lesser known works presented as large-scale projected images. Set to the soundtrack of an original score by American composer Nico Muhly with voiceovers by Hockney himself, prepare to embark on a vibrant journey through the eyes of the treasured British artist.

18 minutes by car from Brown’s Hotel

Located at the heart of Europe’s most sought after cities, make Rocco Forte Hotels your launch pad for the best cultural events and must-see exhibitions in Europe, all on your doorstep.

When you become a Rocco Forte Friend you can enjoy exclusive invitations to cultural events including tickets to the Surrealism exhibition at London’s Design Museum. Before you go, read our insights with the curator.