Roberto Floreani

Roberto Floreani He was born in Venice in 1956. He lives and works in Vicenza and Milan. In the mid-1970s, he travelled to various European countries. From 1977 to 1979 he visited the trio of major exhibitions at the Centre Pompidou in Paris entitled Paris-Berlin, Paris-Moscow and Paris-New York, which had a great influence on his subsequent artistic development. In 1980, when he graduated from Padua University, he also visited New York. 1981 Participates in his first group exhibition at the Museo Casabianca in Malo, in the province of Vicenza. 1985 Has his first solo exhibition at the Palazzo Festari in Valdagno, in the province of Vicenza. 1986 Awarded a purchase prize at the Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa in Venice, with the work being allocated to the Museo di Ca’ Pesaro in Venice. Awarded first prize at the Biennale Triveneta for artists under thirty in Padua, with a purchase prize for a work to be allocated to the Musei Civici in Padua. 1989 His ‘Itinerari della memoria’ (Itineraries of Memory) project is exhibited at the Galleria Chisel, Genoa. Participates for the first time in the international art fairs of Basel, Madrid, Cologne and Paris. 1990–93 Visits Germany and Sweden, where he has a series of solo exhibitions. 1992 In this period his artistic production assumes its present characteristics, forming a point of contact between European culture and the philosophy of the body linked to the Orient. On the basis of these themes, he realizes the project ‘Sogno d’Acqua’ (Water Dream) at the Galleria Gariboldi in Milan and the Ulla Sommers Galerie in Düsseldorf (where it is entitled ‘Wassertraum’). Purchase of a work by the Padiglione d’Arte Contemporanea (PAC) in Milan, allocated to the city collections of the Palazzo Reale in Milan. 1993 Three of his works are acquired by the collections of two banks, the Banca Commerciale Italiana and the Credito Valtellinese. 1994 Completes the project ‘La Casa e il Tempo’ (The House of Time), in collaboration with the Galleria del Credito Valtellinese, Milan, which he exhibits at the Musei Civici, Como, the Musei Civici, Ravenna, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb. The catalogue is published by Electa Edizioni, Milan. Participates in two group shows: one at the Galleria del Credito Valtellinese, Milan, (catalogue Gabriele Mazzotta Editore, Milan), the other at the Galleria d’Arte Contemporanea in Trento, entitled ‘Emergenze’, curated by Danilo Eccher. 1995 Participates in the exhibition ‘Titanica’ at the Museo di Stato di San Marino, San Marino, curated by Vittoria Coen. Invited to participate in the 18th Premio Nazionale Città di Gallarate (‘Riflessione e ridefinizione della Pittura Astratta’ [Reflection on and Redefinition of Abstract Painting]). 1996 Obtains a grant from the ING Bank of Amsterdam (the only one awarded in Italy) and financial support for two years. Visits Brittany and stays on the Tremiti islands with Master Li Rong Mei in order to study the project entitled ‘L’Età della Conoscenza’ (The Age of Knowledge). Performance at the Galleria Mazzocchi in Parma on the invitation of Master Fausto Taiten Guareschi of the Zen monastery Sôtô Shôbôzan Fudenji in Salsomaggiore, province of Parma. Realizes the ‘L’Età della Conoscenza’ project for the Galleria Niccoli, Parma. Obtains a diploma as instructor at the first Chieh of Tai Chi Chuan. 1997 First retrospective exhibition at the Casa dei Carraresi in Treviso, curated by Marco Goldin and Beatrice Buscaroli. Catalogue published by Marsilio Editori, Venice. One of his works is purchased by the Fondazione Cassamarca, Treviso. His works are purchased for the collections of Credito Valtellinese in Lugano. He starts to collaborate with Mary de Rachewiltz, Ezra Pound’s daughter, on the ‘Memoria’ (Memory) project. 1998 Stays frequently at Brunnenburg Castle, near Merano, as a guest of Mary de Rachewiltz, in order to undertake research in the Ezra Pound Archive. Realizes the ‘Regno di Mezzo’ (Middle Kingdom) project at the Galleria Les Chances de l’Art and Südtiroler Künstlerbund (South Tyrol Artists‘Association) in Bolzano. His works are purchased for the collections of the Galleria d’Arte Moderna (GAM) in Bologna. Participates in the international exhibitions ‘Aniconica’ and ‘Ultime Acquisizioni’ at the Galleria d’Arte Moderna in Bologna, on the invitation of the director Danilo Eccher. One of his works is purchased by the foundation of the University of Bologna. 1999 Realizes the ‘Vedute’ (Views) project for the Antonio Colombo Arte Contemporanea gallery in Milan. In May the exhibition entitled ‘Memoria’ opens at the Galleria del Credito Valtellinese in Milan; the catalogue with an introductory essay by Mary de Rachewiltz, is published by Skira Editore, Milan. The city of Vicenza devotes a retrospective to him at the LAMeC (Laboratorio per l’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea) in the Basilica Palladiana. His works are purchased for the collections of the ING Bank. Creates a permanent installation for suite no. 108 of the Grand Hotel Greif in Bolzano. 2000 Gives a lecture on the theme of the artist and the market in the Aula Prodi at the University of Bologna, as one of the events marking the beginning of Bologna’s term as European Capital of Culture. Partecipates in the international group show ‘Campi di Oscillazione’, curated by Tiziana Conti, at CeSAC (Centro Sperimentale per le Arti Contemporanee) in Caraglio, province of Cuneo (Piedmont). Creates the ‘Yule’ project with the poet Giuseppe Conte. The resulting book, published by the Circolo degli Artisti of Faenza, reaches the finals of the Premio Nazionale di Poesia (National Poetry Prize) held at Camaiore, near Lucca. A performance entitled ‘Hagakure’ is held at the Casa di Ros in San Benedetto Po, near Mantua. He is one of the Italian artists selected for the ‘Generazione Astratta’ exhibition at the Fondazione Bandera per l’Arte, in Busto Arsizio, in the province of Varese. 2001 Solo exhibition at the Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di San Marino, San Marino. His works are purchased for the collections of the Museo di Stato di San Marino, San Marino Realizes the theatrical project ‘Hagakure’ based on texts by Yukio Mishima and performed at the Teatro dei Fabbri, Trieste, the Teatro Astra, Vicenza and the Teatro Nuovo, Verona. Participates in the exhibition ‘Generazionale’ at the Basilica Palladiana in Vicenza. 2002 Solo exhibition at the Galleria Nuova Artesegno in Udine. While working on the ‘Ritorno all’Angelo’ (Return to the Angel) project, he promotes the first Festival della Poesia (Poetry Festival) at the Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza, inviting Giuseppe Conte, Tomaso Kemeny, Valentino Zeichen and Mary de Rachewiltz. With the latter he publishes a book on Ezra Pound, concerning himself with the poet’s relations with Constantin Brancusi and Henri Gaudier-Brzeska. He is invited to participate in the exhibition entitled ‘Sconfinamenti’ at the Castello di Spezzano, near Modena, where his works are displayed with those of Aldo Damioli and Luigi Serafini. Solo exhibition at the Fondazione di Ca’ La Ghironda, Museo d’Arte Classica, Moderna e Contemporanea, Zola Predosa, near Bologna. 2003 Realizes the ‘Ritorno all’Angelo’ project for his solo exhibition in the Musei del Canal Grande section of the Museo Revoltella in Trieste. Solo exhibitions at the Galleria Planetario in Trieste and the Galleria Nuova Artesegno in Udine. Organizes and speaks at a conference on the founder of Futurism, Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, with his daughter, Vittoria Marinetti. 2004 Realizes the project ‘Una parte (di tutte le parti)’ (A Part [of All the Parts]) for the Palazzo Frisacco in Tolmezzo, in Friuli. Starts to create the large format work Ogni viaggio è un ritorno (Every Journey is a Return) for the Rome Quadriennale; this is intended to be a summary of his previous ten years’ work. He has the initial idea for Fratelli Calgaro, the pseudonym of the Milan-based photographer Giuseppe Calgaro. 2005 Creates a project entitled ‘Ogni viaggio è un ritorno’ for the Galleria Nuova Artesegno in Udine. Invited to participate in the 14th Rome Quadriennale, in the ‘Fuori Tema’ (Off the Subject) section. Solo exhibition ‘Selected Works 2000–2005’ at the Galleria Folini in Chiasso, Canton Ticino, Switzerland, comprising around twenty large format works, some of his most outstanding of the previous five years. Awarded a gold plaque at the Premio Fabbri per l’Arte (in Bologna). Participates in the group exhibition ‘La Santa Alleanza’ at the Galleria Annovi in Sassuolo, near Modena. Compiles the working programme for Fratelli Calgaro, which is published in Ugly Candy — un giorno di ordinaria follia, the catalogue of Fratelli Calgaro’s first solo exhibition at the Galleria Furini, Arezzo, with an introductory essay by Maurizio Sciaccaluga. 2006 Retrospective at the Palazzo Pretorio in Cittadella, in the province of Padua, regarding the period 1998–2006. Devises a project for a large installation composed of seven works for the opening the Bonelli-LAB exhibition space in Canneto sull’Oglio, in the province of Mantua. His works are purchased for the collections of the VAF-Stiftung in Frankfurt and is invited to participate with a work in the exhibition ‘Mitomacchina’ at the MART (Museo di arte moderna e contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto), in Rovereto. Starts to prepare the series of exhibitions entitled ‘Selected Works 1997-2007’. 2007 Prepares a large installation for the exhibition ‘Linee all’Orizzonte’ at the Galleria d’Arte Moderna in Genova, curated by Maurizio Sciaccaluga. First solo exhibition in Sicily, at the Galleria LIBRA Arte Contemporanea in Catania. His retrospective exhibition ‘Selected Works 1997–2007’ opens at the Palazzo Ducale in Mantua, curated by Klaus Wolbert. It then tours to the Neuer Kunstverein in Aschaffenburg, the Stadtmuseum in Gelsenkirchen and the Mestna Galerija in Ljubljana. With the approach of the centenary of the founding of Futurism, he is charged with the task of editing the Baléni series by Campanotto Editore, Pasian Di Prato, near Udine. 2008 A solo exhibition, with a selection of his recent works, is organized by the Galleria Open Art of Prato at the Forte Belvedere in Florence. Realizes the ‘Gerarchie Spirituali (passaggio in Ticino)’ (Spiritual Hierarchies [Passage to Ticino]) project for the Galleria Folini Arte Contemporanea in Chiasso, Canton Ticino, Switzerland. He is responsible for the first edition of the aerofuturista Ubaldo Serbo’s book for the Baléni series, presented at the Turin Book Fair. At the same time he stages the ‘Grande Serata Futurista’ (Great Futurist Evening) at the Teatro Astra in Vicenza. Also with the celebration of the centenary of Futurism in mind, he creates the ‘Manifesto’ project for a solo exhibition at the Galleria Open Art in Prato.

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