Giorgio Andreotta Calò

Italian artist Giorgio Andreotta Calò explores the intersection of art and architecture through his performative and ephemeral work.

Biography of Giorgio Andreotta Calò

Giorgio Andreotta Calò was born in Venice in 1979. Educated at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia (1999-2005) and KunstHochSchule Berlin (2003-2004), Calò's early career was shaped by his experiences as an assistant to renowned artists Ilya and Emilia Kabakov. 

In 2008, he moved to the Netherlands, where he completed a residency at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam. 

In 2011, he took part in the 54th Venice Biennale under the direction of Bice Curiger, showcasing his work "Ritorno" (Return). The following year, in 2012, he was awarded the Italian Contemporary Art Prize by the Museo MAXXI in Rome, and in 2013, he received the Premio New York from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In 2017, Giorgio Andreotta Calò was selected as one of the three artists to represent Italy in the Pavilion curated by Cecilia Alemani at the 57th Venice Biennale.

Giorgio Andreotta Calò's Art Style

Calò's creations traverse the boundaries between sculpture, performance, and direct architectural intervention. Consequently, the artwork presented to the public is not merely a crafted object or the outcome of a project, but rather a temporal process embedded within physical matter and space. Its form is shaped by the environment it engages with and the energies it unleashes within. 

Walking, viewed as a gesture, carries both political and aesthetic significance and serves as a foundational element in Calò's practice.

His practice often involves performative acts, such as long-distance walks, which become integral to the artwork itself. Whether traversing 1,600 miles through France, Spain, and Portugal or illuminating an abandoned parliament building in Sarajevo, Giorgio Andreotta Calò's interventions transform architecture and landscape into powerful symbolic and aesthetic experiences.