Mario Dellavedova

Mario Dellavedova was born in 1958 in Legnano (MI), near Milan, Italy. He lives and works between Villastanza, a small town north of Milan, and Taxco, an ancient and charming silverworking center in Mexico. He holds a degree in architecture.

Dellavedova is known for his conceptual approach and experimental use of materials and techniques, often drawing inspiration from the places he has lived or traveled. His time in Mexico, for instance, marked a significant period of exploration, during which he worked extensively with textiles, embroidery, and silver.

Dellavedova’s artistic practice is rooted in a conceptual approach that juxtaposes artifacts, furniture, textiles, and everyday objects. Through a refined attention to materials—ranging from precious metals to rough fabrics—and detail, his works often undermine the ordinary function of these elements. The result is an atmosphere that blends intimacy with mystical undertones, evoking deep emotional responses. His career began in Milan, where he participated in early solo and group exhibitions and was part of a vibrant creative generation during the late 1980s. Though not tied to a specific movement, Dellavedova was part of a dynamic exchange of ideas with peers who later gained international acclaim. He shared a studio for a time with artists Stefano Arienti and Amedeo Martegani. This environment fostered a shared artistic sensibility based on the critical manipulation of reality—through deconstruction, mimicry, irony, and conceptualism.

Dellavedova works across multiple media, including sculpture, painting, and installation. His practice often involves recontextualizing linguistic and object-based references from both historical and contemporary culture. Writing features prominently in his work—appearing in paintings and ephemeral installations composed of unconventional materials like candy, eyeglasses, gold leaf, and banknotes. These texts, often mundane or ironic, reflect his ongoing interrogation of the role of the artist and the language of art itself. Wordplay, metaphor, and estranging irony are central strategies in his practice. His works frequently challenge the viewer’s expectations by contrasting conceptual content with the artisanal character of the materials used, and by blurring the boundary between the sacred and the banal. In this way, Dellavedova subtly critiques painting and its traditional subjects, often with a sense of ironic detachment.