Grazia Toderi

Grazia Toderi, an Italian artist, primarily explores the realm of video art in her work.

Biography of Grazia Toderi

Grazia Toderi was born in 1963 in Padua, Italy. She studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna and transitioned to exploring media and video art in the 1990s.

Following her studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna, Grazia Toderi relocated to Milan in 1992. Since 2005, she has split her time between Milan and Turin.

Toderi initially garnered critical acclaim, in part, through her involvement in Aperto '93 at the 45th Venice Biennale. Her exhibit at the event included photographs alongside the video "Notiscordardime" (Forget-me-not). Several of Toderi's photographic pieces have been auctioned by Christie's in New York City. 

In 1999, Toderi was honored as one of the recipients of Italy’s prestigious Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale. This esteemed recognition solidified her position as a prominent figure in the contemporary art scene.

Currently, she lives and works in Milan and Turin, Italy.

Grazia Toderi's Art Style

Specializing in video art, Toderi crafts seemingly detached recordings that unravel within the urban landscapes of cities or meticulously selected architectural settings. Striving to detach herself from pure creative impulse, she intentionally employs video in a straightforward yet tactile manner, directing focus towards the subject and the unfolding actions.

Drawing inspiration from Italo Calvino's novel "Invisible Cities," Toderi envisions cities as reflections between the sky and the earth. By merging nighttime perspectives of diverse cities such as Rome, Florence, or London, she constructs video installations that are simultaneously structured and fantastical.

Drawing inspiration from Giotto and other early 14th-century painters, Toderi also looks to contemporary experiences, ranging from the distant cityscapes illuminated at night to the weightless ballets of the U.S. space programs. Her video art often explores visualizations of the infinite, a fascination she attributes to a pivotal childhood memory—witnessing the simulcast of the first moonwalk.