In 2024, MASI Lugano received the entire Collection of Jocelyne and Fabrice Petignat as a donation. The compositions displayed on the wall at the entrance of Palazzo Reali and in this room represent only a small selection of the collection, which comprises over 650 works. The Petignat Collection captures various trends in international contemporary art, with a particular focus on the emerging scene that they have followed over the past 40 years. Intimate and personal in character, the collection primarily consists of works on paper and photographs. The Petignat Collection is the result of many years of dedicated research and is shaped by an extensive network of personal connections. Jocelyne and Fabrice Petignat’s passion for art has always driven them to forge close and enduring relationships with artists, many of whom they met early in their careers.

Thanks to this approach, the collection includes some of the first, rare pieces by what are now international names. The Petignats were among the first supporters of video artist Pipilotti Rist, and since the 1990s, they recognised the significance of the work of artists like Vanessa Beecroft, Miriam Cahn, Nan Goldin, Jamie Reid, and Wolfgang Tillmans. It also includes works by renowned artists such as Marina Abramović, Alighiero Boetti, Christian Boltanski, Heidi Bucher, and Maurizio Cattelan. Key topics such as the advent of video art, feminism, the influence of punk in visual art and the renewal of contemporary painting are among the main focuses around which the collection has grown over the years.

The Petignat Collection will be gradually integrated into the MASI collections, enabling the individual works to be documented and studied to fully realize their potential over time. For this purpose, since last October, two rooms of Palazzo Reali have been used to inventory the artworks.