The Florence exhibition
‘Broken: The Power of the Fragment’ opened September 25 at Palazzo Strozzi and runs through January 24, 2027. Organizers describe more than 80 works spanning ancient Egypt, classical Greece, Cambodia, Mexico and contemporary art.
The curatorial question is not merely how damaged objects looked when complete. The exhibition considers how fragments acquire new political, religious and aesthetic meanings through breakage, excavation, collecting and display.
Do not confuse the two presentations
The National Gallery of Art is a co-organizer, but its Washington presentation is scheduled for 2027 and is described as newly conceived. A ticket, installation view or review from Florence does not describe an exhibition already open in Washington.
The National Gallery lists its version for March through June 2027. Travelers should use the museum hosting the date they plan to visit, because object lists, layout and access information can differ.
A useful way to look
Instead of treating every missing limb or surface as accidental loss, compare the cause and later use of each fragment. Was it destroyed deliberately, excavated, restored selectively or preserved precisely because the break became meaningful?
That documented comparison is the exhibition’s strongest promise. It turns incompleteness into evidence, while the venue and date distinction prevents a transatlantic collaboration from being mistaken for one simultaneous show.