FRANCESCO IMPELLIZZERI
Francesco Impellizzeri was born in Trapani in 1958 and graduated in Painting from the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome, where he currently lives and works. His early exhibitions in the 1980s focused on the human figure before evolving into a pictorial exploration of sign and color in relation to music and rhythm. In 1990, his performance Strilli at the Temple University Gallery in Rome introduced his first character, UNPOPOP, a figure who sings about contemporary art while playfully critiquing society. From that moment, performances became a key part of his artistic practice, bringing new characters to life, while photography, painting, and video enriched his exhibitions. He first showcased his work in prestigious galleries such as La Nuova Pesa, Il Ponte Contemporanea, Pio Monti, and Oddi Baglioni, before moving on to major institutions, including the Venice Biennale. Between 1997 and 2007, he exhibited with Espacio Minimo gallery in Madrid, and in 2003 he participated in the traveling exhibition Don't Call It Performance, which began at the Reina Sofia Museum and concluded at the Museo del Barrio in New York. In the early 2000s, he introduced the Pensierini series, a collection of elementary school-style notebook pages featuring reflections on social, political, and personal events. Though written from a childlike perspective, these works reveal the artist’s signature irony. In his more recent works, the bold colors of his early research blend with silver-painted texts, presented through immersive installations enriched by sound and musical performances.His works and performances have been featured in international galleries, Italian Cultural Institutes, major art fairs, television programs, and films. Among his recent solo exhibitions and performances are Stai una favola at Studio Provenzano in Palermo in 2022, DonAzione at the Museo Antonio Pasqualino in Palermo in 2021, Prismatica with Carla Accardi at Galleria Santo Ficara in Florence in 2019, and Ricordo at the Museo delle Trame Mediterranee in Gibellina in 2019. His recent group exhibitions include Suoni at Galleria Giovanni Bonelli in Milan in 2022, Le altre opere at the Galleria d'Arte Moderna in Rome in 2021, 15 opere della Collezione Farnesina at the Museu Nacional dos Coches in Lisbon and IIC Paris in 2019, El Ultimo Espaliù at the Real Academia de España in Rome in 2019, and La linea d'ombra at MACRO in Rome in 2019.From 1987 to 2014, he collaborated with artist Carla Accardi and is currently a member of the scientific committee of the Accardi-Sanfilippo archive.
+ 01 OMBRA SONORA, APPUNTAMENTO, 2012, glass painting, photo and frame, cm 58,5x43,5
+ 02 OMBRA SONORA, MICHELLE, 2012, glass painting, photo and frame, cm 45,5x35,5
+ 03 STAI UNA FAVOLA, 2018, glass painting, photo and frame cm 80x55
+ 04 STAI UNA FAVOLA, 2024, glass painting, photo and frame cm 55x36
