William Kentridge and Philip Miller: BREATHE DISSOLVE RETURN

MAXXI hosts BREATHE DISSOLVE RETURN—the cine-concert by internationally acclaimed artist William Kentridge and composer Philip Miller, curated by Oscar Pizzo and Franco Laera. An original project conceived as a powerful immersive experience lasting 55 minutes, it envelops audiences in a compelling dialogue between moving images and music.

At the heart of the cine-concert, Kentridge reinterprets in a visual collage two of his iconic works: Triumphs and Laments, the monumental frieze created in 2016 along five hundred metres of the Lungotevere to celebrate the history of the river and the city of Rome, and The Head and the Load, presented here in its film version Kaboom!, dedicated to the memory of Africa and of the Africans involved in the First World War. The images—layered and in constant transformation—intertwine with Miller’s musical compositions, giving rise to a non-linear narrative in which history, politics and imagination converge.

Alongside this new production, MAXXI presents Triumphs and Laments (2025), a booklet called “leporello”—an accordion-fold print composed of multiple sections—which presents the original 2016 frieze in its entirety. In the exhibition space, near the large glass window, a selection of works by William Kentridge from the MAXXI Collection is also on view: two of his large drawings, Flagellant (1996–1997) and Untitled (Large drawing—Standing man) (2001), together with the large tapestry North Pole Map (2003). The project, commissioned by MAXXI — National Museum of 21st Century Arts, is co-produced by MAXXI and Change Performing Arts in collaboration with William Kentridge Studio.