Pier Paolo Calzolari

Born in Bologna in 1943, Calzolari now lives and works in Lisbon. After a period in Venice (the artist recollects the city’s Byzantine art and the quality of the light), he returned to Bologna where he held his first solo exhibition at Studio Bentivoglio in 1965. The following year he made works from found objects (Fabula Due). The artwork-performance Il Filtro e Benvenuto all’Angelo was presented in 1967, the year in which he began to share in events with Arte Povera artists; La casa ideale (1968) was one of his notable works from this time. Up until 1972 he travelled between Paris, New York and Berlin. His modus operandi was characterised by the alchemical process of transforming elements and the investigation of materials such as tobacco, musk, lead, luminous materials and frozen bars (Lago del cuore, Piombo rosa). He experimented with unusual supports such as flannel for his painting and involved the audience in his work, letting daily life and aesthetics interact (Usura, amore e misericordia, 1972–1974). He moved to Milan, Turin, and in 1982 to Vienna. In 1984 he returned to Montefeltro. His work on space-time expanded to include different disciplines: the visual arts, dance and performance. He has exhibited in group and solo exhibitions in Italy and abroad, among them Centre d’art contemporain, Saint-Priest (1996); Galleria d’Arte Moderna, Villa delle Rose, Bologna (1999); and MAMBO, Bologna (2011). He now lives and works in Lisbon, Portugal.

Source: Magonza Editore