Biography

Francesco Arena was born in Torre Santa Susanna, Brindisi, in 1978. He lives and works in Cassano delle Murge, Bari. He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Lecce and was a fellow of the Corso Superiore di Arte Visiva at the Ratti Foundation, Como (2005); Villa Arson, Nice (2010) and ISCP, New York (2013).  To create his works he starts from the history, in particular from the political and social facts that characterised the recent past. Episodes, too many times hidden or hushed up, that in the works by Francesco Arena gain a new life thanks to the synthetic and metaphorical forms of his sculptures. His work has been exhibited internationally.

 

In 2024, he was granted the XXVI Pino Pascali Award by the Fondazione Pino Pascali.

 

Solo exhibitions include: Sprovieri, London (2023); Fondazione Nicola Del Roscio, Roma (2023); U BASE / Progetti per l'arte, Firenze (2020); Posatoi, Olnick Spanu Art Program, Garrison, NY (2014); Frac Champagne - Ardenne, Reims (2013); Museion, Bolzano (2012); PeepHole, Milano (2011); De Vleeshal, Middelburg NL (2010).

 

Group exhibitions include: Fondazione Memmo, Rome, Italy; Fondazione La Quandriennale Di Roma (2024); Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Rome, Italy; Galleria delle Prigioni – Fondazione Imago Mundi, Treviso; Bangkok Art Biennale, Bangkok; Villa Arson, Nice (2023); Maxxi L’Aquila, Italy (2022); Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (2021); Museo Madre, Napoli (2021); Center for Contemporary Art – Plovdiv (2020); Metropolitan Museum of Manila, Manila, Filippine (2020); Uber Mauer, BAM, Convento della Maggione, Palermo (2020); Works from Colecao Teixera de Freitas, Sala de Arte Santander, Madrid (2019); Kunstmuseum, St. Gallen (2019); PYFF, Ping Yao, Shanxi, China (2018); Caixa Forum, Barcelona (2018); Frac Franche-Comté, Besancon; La Capela, Barcellona (2017); Baijia Lake Museum, Nanjing (2016); Triennale di Milano, Milan (2007); Kunst di dorpen, Belgium (2015); Strozzina, Palazzo Strozzi, Firenze (2015); Castello di Rivoli, Rivoli (2015); Fundação Iberê Camargo, Porto Alegre, Brasil (2014); Italian Pavilon, 55 Biennale di Venezia, Venezia (2013); Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Torino (2012).

Works
  • Francesco Arena, Altalena, 2024
    Francesco Arena
    Altalena, 2024
    bronze, rope or chain
    variable dimensions
    bronze seat dimensions 60 x 33 x 3 cm
  • Francesco Arena, Piero, 2024
    Francesco Arena
    Piero, 2024
    bronze
    40x 0,5 x 20 cm
  • Francesco Arena, Cassetta, 2023
    Francesco Arena
    Cassetta, 2023
    bronze
    45 x 31 x 63 cm
  • Francesco Arena, God, 2022
    Francesco Arena
    God, 2022
    granite stones
    80 x 60 x 50 cm
  • Francesco Arena, Rame (Parallelepipedo per 70 kg di cenere), 2020
    Francesco Arena
    Rame (Parallelepipedo per 70 kg di cenere), 2020
    copper, incense
    150.5 x 30 x 30 cm
  • Francesco Arena, Ash Horizon II, 2018
    Francesco Arena
    Ash Horizon II, 2018
    Sahara grey stone, cigar ash
    166.5 x 20 x 20 cm
  • Francesco Arena, Cube (Le Dernier Jour d'un condamné), 2018
    Francesco Arena
    Cube (Le Dernier Jour d'un condamné), 2018
    Rosso Verona and Le Dernier Jour d'un condamné by Victor Hugo
    18.1 x 18.1 x 18.1 cm
  • Francesco Arena, Prisma con perimetro, 2018
    Francesco Arena
    Prisma con perimetro, 2018
    white bronze and strings
    25 x 39 x 29 cm
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