Pier Paolo Calzolari is an Italian artist (born in Bologna in 1943) who was originally associated with Arte Povera. He currently lives in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

(Portugal).

1960s and 1970s

Calzolari spent most of his childhood in

Venice, Italy Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The islan ...

where the cultural Byzantine heritage and the singular light of the city over the water profoundly influenced his work. In 1965 he moved to Bologna where he set up his studio at Palazzo Bentivoglio. His first seminal pieces grew from his stay in the building where a lot of international artists were also invited to show their work, including the first film screenings on Italian soil of artists such as

Ari Marcopoulos Ari Marcopoulos (born Aristos) is an American self-taught photographer, adventurer and film artist. Born in the Netherlands, he is best known for presenting work showcasing elusive subcultures, including artists, snowboarders and musicians. He liv ...

Jonas Mekas Jonas Mekas (; December 24, 1922 – January 23, 2019) was a Lithuanian-American filmmaker, poet, and artist who has been called "the godfather of American avant-garde cinema". Mekas' work has been exhibited in museums and at festivals worldwi ...

and

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...

. Between 1966 and 1967 Calzolari worked on his first performance piece entitled ''Il filtro e benvenuto all’angelo''. (The filter and welcome to the angel) Between 1968-69, at the age 25, Calzolari worked in

Urbino Urbino ( ; ; Romagnol: ''Urbìn'') is a walled city in the Marche region of Italy, south-west of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially under the patronage of ...

as an assistant professor at the Academy of Fine Arts. He was later promoted to professor in 2002-2003. In 1969, Calzolari also participated in the historical show " Live In Your Head: When Attitudes Become Form" curated by

Harald Szeemann '' Harald Szeemann (11 June 1933 – 18 February 2005) was a Swiss curator, artist, and art historian. Having curated more than 200 exhibitions, many of which have been characterized as groundbreaking, Szeemann is said to have helped redefine the r ...

at the

Kunsthalle Bern The Kunsthalle Bern is a ''Kunsthalle'' (art exposition hall) on the Helvetiaplatz in Bern, Switzerland. It was built in 1917–1918 by the Kunsthalle Bern Association and opened on October 5, 1918. Since then, it has been the site of numerous e ...

. The show marked the beginning of an international career. Szeemann would later invite him to exhibit at

Documenta 5 documenta 5 was the fifth edition of documenta, a quinquennial contemporary art exhibition. It was held between 30 June and 8 October 1972 in Kassel, West Germany. The artistic director was Harald Szeemann '' Harald Szeemann (11 June 1933 – 18 ...

in 1972.

1980s and 1990s

In the late 1980s, Calzolari retreated to Fossombrone, a small town in the Marche region of central Italy, where he has largely kept out of the public eye and worked in his studio. During the 1980s and 1990s, Calzolari participated in exhibitions at the

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, often referred to as The Guggenheim, is an art museum at 1071 Fifth Avenue on the corner of East 89th Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It is the permanent home of a continuously exp ...

in New York (1994),

MoMA PS1 MoMA PS1 is a contemporary art institution located in Court Square in the Long Island City neighborhood in the borough of Queens, New York City. In addition to its exhibitions, the institution organizes the Sunday Sessions performance series, th ...

in New York, and

The Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

. In the early 2000s Calzolari relocated to Lisbon.

Present

Today, Pier Paolo Calzolari is represented by

Marianne Boesky Gallery Marianne Boesky Gallery is an art gallery located in the New York City neighborhood of Chelsea and Aspen, Colorado. Founded in 1996 in Soho by Marianne Boesky, it specializes in contemporary art. It represents established artists like Frank Stella ...

, New York and Kamel Mennour, Paris. In 2019 a retrospective of his work, titled "Painting as a Butterfly", was held at

Museo d'Arte Contemporanea Donnaregina The Museo d'Arte Contemporanea Donnaregina, often known as Museo Madre, or Donnaregina Contemporary Art Museum, is a art museum, museum of contemporary art in Naples, in Campania in southern Italy. It is housed in the Palazzo Donnaregina, which ...

in Naples.

References

* * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Calzolari, Pier Paolo 1943 births Living people Artists from Bologna Artists from Venice Italian expatriates in Portugal Italian contemporary artists