Francesco Arena
Francesco Arena's exploration moves along two tracks: that of collective history, in particular national history, and that of the artist's personal history. His works, heterogeneous in terms of both volume and materials, examine the relationship with time and space, measured and constructed not only for their use but also as a representation of the individual or the society that produced them. Arena always imposes a code, a rule to follow; the numerical or linguistic data he uses are intended as a unit of measurement on which the sculpture is built. A weight, a distance, a surface or a phrase form the work and determine its shape or size.
works
video
Novantatremiliardi di albe
Italy, 2017, 22’
by Domenico Palma – Artecinema Produzioni
catalogue
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Francesco Arena was born in Torre Santa Susanna, Brindisi, in 1978 and lives and works in Cassano delle Murge, Bari.
His works have been exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibitions, in both public and private venues: Fondazione Nicola del Roscio, Rome, 2023; Casa di Goethe, Rome, 2022; Palazzo d’Avalos, Procida, 2022; Palazzo Borromeo, Milan, 2022; MAXXI L’Aquila, 2022; Nogueras Blanchard Gallery, Barcelona, 2022; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, 2021; Museo Madre, Naples, 2021; Kyiv History Museum, Kiev, 2021; Galleria Raffaella Cortese, Milan, 2021; Metropolitan Museum of Manila, 2020; Collezione Giancarlo e Danna Olgiati, Switzerland, 2020; Sprovieri Gallery, London, 2019; Kunstmuseum St. Gallen, Switzerland, 2018; PYFF, Ping Yao, Shanxi, China, 2018; Unlimited, Art Basel, 2017; Frac Champagne-Ardenne, Reims, 2012; Museion, Bolzano, 2012; Monitor, Rome, 2011; Peep Hole, Milan, 2011; Art Statement Art Basel, 2010. In 2022, the artist participated in the Bangkok Art Biennale with the work Daily Stone. In 2013, he took part in the Vice Versa exhibition project for the Italian pavilion at the 55th Venice Biennale. In 2014, his work entitled Posatoi became part of the Nancy Olnick and Giorgio Spanu Italian Art collection in Garrison, New York. In 2019, he was one of the winners of the Fifth Edition of the Italian Council promoted by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage. Francesco Arena’s works are in major national and international museum collections such as the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, the Philadelphia Art Museum in Philadelphia; the Magazzino Italian Art in Cold Spring (NY); the Castello di Rivoli; the MAXXI Museum in Rome; the Museion in Bolzano; the Madre Museum in Naples, the Capodimonte Museum in Naples. In 2019, Francesco Arena, 5468 days, his monographic catalogue which presents a selection of some sixty of his works realized between 2004 and 2019, was published by Skira.
He has been represented by the Studio Trisorio since 2017, where he had the exhibitions Passaggio, 2017 and Otto Angoli, 2021.
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Francesco Arena è nato a Torre Santa Susanna, Brindisi, nel 1978, vive e lavora a Cassano delle Murge, Bari.
I suoi lavori sono stati esposti in numerose mostre personali e collettive, in spazi pubblici e privati: Fondazione Nicola del Roscio, Roma, 2023; Casa di Goethe, Roma, 2022; Palazzo d’Avalos, Procida, 2022; Palazzo Borromeo, Milano, 2022; MAXXI L’Aquila, 2022; Nogueras Blanchard Gallery, Barcellona, 2022; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, 2021; Museo Madre, Napoli, 2021; Kyiv History Museum, Kiev, 2021; Galleria Raffaella Cortese, Milano, 2021; Metropolitan Museum of Manila, 2020; Collezione Giancarlo e Danna Olgiati, Lugano, 2020; Sprovieri Gallery, Londra, 2019; Kunstmuseum St. Gallen, Svizzera, 2018; PYFF, Ping Yao, Shanxi, Cina, 2018; Unlimited, Art Basel, 2017; Frac Champagne-Ardenne, Reims, 2012; Museion, Bolzano, 2012; Monitor, Roma, 2011; Peep Hole, Milano, 2011; Art Statement Art Basel, 2010. Nel 2022 l’artista ha preso parte alla terza edizione della Biennale di Bangkok con l’opera Daily Stone. Nel 2013 ha partecipato al progetto espositivo Vice Versa per il padiglione italiano della 55ª Biennale di Venezia. Nel 2014 la sua opera Posatoi è entrata a far parte della collezione d’arte italiana di Nancy Olnick e Giorgio Spanu, Garrison, New York. Nel 2019 è tra i vincitori della quinta edizione dell’Italian Council promosso dal Ministero dei Beni Culturali. I lavori di Francesco Arena sono nelle collezioni dei più prestigiosi musei nazionali e internazionali: Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; Philadelphia Art Museum, Philadelphia; Magazzino Italian Art, Cold Spring (NY); Castello di Rivoli; Museo MAXXI, Roma; Museion, Bolzano; Museo Madre, Napoli; Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte, Napoli. Nel 2019 è stato pubblicato da Skira il catalogo monografico Francesco Arena, 5468 giorni che raccoglie una selezione di circa 60 opere realizzate dal 2004 al 2019.
Collabora con lo Studio Trisorio dal 2017, dove ha realizzato la mostra Passaggio, 2017 e Otto Angoli, 2021.
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