Vincenzo Paonessa

Vincenzo Paonessa was born in Gimigliano (Catanzaro) in 1970 and completed his artistic education at the Academy of Fine Arts in Catanzaro. He currently lives and works in Mantua. He made his debut in 1994 winning the Seledi Institute Award. In 1999, he exhibited in a group show curated by critic Tonino Sicoli at the Centro Documentazione Artistica contemporanea "Luigi Di Sarro" in Rome. His first solo exhibition was held in 2004 at the A&RS Gallery in Catanzaro, curated by art critic Tonino Sicoli. The following year, he illustrated the volume "Antonio Labriola e la sua università," edited by N. Siciliani De Cumis and participated in the XIV Primaverile Romana curated by the ARGAM. In 2006, he participated in the XII edition of the Cairo Biennale in the Italian Pavilion (curated by Carmine Siniscalco) at the Cairo Opera House. In 2007, the Italian Cultural Institute in La Valletta (Malta) organized the collective exhibition "Premio Nazionale delle Arti," in collaboration with MIUR, where Paonessa exhibited among the finalists. In 2010, he collaborated on the setup and wall decorations for the exhibition Alchimie. Dal Controdesign alle Nuove Utopie," curated by Alberto Fiz at the Museo MARCA (in collaboration with Atelier Alessandro Mendini). In 2011, he participated in the group exhibition SEIsud, curated by Andrea Romoli Barberini. In 2012, he was selected for the Italian Pavilion at the 54th Venice Biennale, curated by Vittorio Sgarbi. That same year, he curated the exhibition "Costruire sulle Vestigia: Impermanenze di Daniel Buren," curated by Alberto Fiz, at the Museo MARCA. In 2013, his installation "Sono cavoli" was hosted by the Portuguese Cultural Institute in Rome. In 2015, he conducted the masterclass "Giochiamo agli ospiti" in Novosibirsk (Russia), in collaboration with MIUR. In 2017, he participated in the SetUp exhibition at the Bologna and in the group exhibitions "Arte del XX e XXI secolo e la Calabria" curated by Bruno Corà and Tonino Sicoli at MAON in Rende (CS). In 2019, he exhibited at the MAON Museum in Rende (CS) in the collective exhibition Isole d’istanti. Alle radici del MAON (critical texts by Nicola Siciliani de Cumis and Tonino Sicoli). In 2022, he was in the collective exhibition Nella forma e nella materia. Nuove generazioni per la scultura mantovana dal ‘900 a oggi, curated by Paola Artoni and held at the Casa del Mantegna in Mantua. In 2023, he held the solo exhibition "Di mappe cosmiche e Città ideali," curated by Paola Artoni, at the Casa di Rigoletto in Mantua. On that occasion, the first monograph "Works 1993/2023" was published. Vincenzo Paonessa’s works are in museums and private collections.