STEFANO ARIENTI
STAND F4
(1961, Mantua, Italy)
Olivo spontaneo (Wild Olive), 2024, gold oil-based paint on tarpaulin, cm.h. 284 x 165
These works are driven by pre-existing objects and figures - including the tradition of ancient art and the forms of popular culture - but create alterations and translations of these that modify their meaning, in a striking creative process. The artist tackles key themes such as the relationship with natural reality, the role of the imagination and the concept of originality.
Stefano Arienti’s first solo exhibition at Christian Stein was held in 2019.
Stefano Arienti lives and works in Milan. Recently, Arienti has begun to create installation works and exhibitions, shifting his analysis from the pure objectual datum to the environmental dimension. His research proceeds along the guidelines of a relationship with popular tradition, which has always been one of his characteristics, but is complemented by a retrospective look at his own art and technical achievements. He questions himself on the capacity of art, in a strict sense, to influence culture in a broader sense.
Arienti’s most important solo exhibitions:
Venice Biennale (Aperto 1990, 1993); the Istanbul Biennial (1992); Cocido y Crudo, Museo Reina Sofia, Madrid (1994); XII Rome Quadrennial, 1996 (first prize winner); Fatto in Italia, Centre d’Art Contemporain, Geneva; ICA, London (1997); and Gwangju Biennale (2008).
Arienti’s most recent solo exhibitions: MAXXI, Rome (2004); Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin (2005); Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston (2007); Fondazione Querini Stampalia, Venice (2008); MAMbo (2008); Palazzo Ducale, Mantua; Museion, Bozen (2011).