Pier Paolo Calzolari

Born in 1943 in Bologna (Italy), PIER PAOLO CALZOLARI now lives and works in Lisbon (Portugal), after living in Venice and Fossombrone (Italy). An emblematic figure in the Italian contemporary art scene and part of the Arte Povera movement, Pier Paolo Calzolari has developed an unusual œuvre based on the use of certain recurring materials since the 1960s: tobacco leaves, salt, fire, frost, copper and lead. Calzolari’s practice is an ongoing investigation into material mutations and a certain disposition to experimenting with temporalities. Kamel Mennour and Pier Paolo Calzolari have been working together since 2013.

His work has been presented in numerous solo exhibitions, notably at the Maeght Foundation, the National Gallery of the Jeu de Paume, the Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, the Museo MADRE, and at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Nice. Since 1967, he has participated in important collective exhibitions, among which: “Kunst und Alchemie. Das Geheimnis der Verwandlung”, Museum Kunst Palast, Dusseldorf; “When Attitudes Become Form: Bern 1969 / Venice 2013”, Fondazione Prada, Venice; “Where are we going? Opere scelte dalla Collezione François Pinault”, Palazzo Grassi, Pinault Collection, Venice; “Zero to Infinity: Arte Povera 1962-1972”, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington DC; The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; Tate Modern, London; “The Italian Metamorphosis, 1943-1972”, Milan Triennale; Kunstmuseum, Wolfsburg; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York and “The Knot Arte Povera at PS1”, MoMA PS1, New York.
He also participated in the 39th, 44th and 52nd Venice Biennales, the VII Paris Biennale, the XII São Paulo Biennale, Documenta IX and Documenta V, Cassel.

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