Francesco Simeti (b.1968, Palermo, Italy) lives and works in Brooklyn (New York). He is known for his site specific installations using wallpapers, sculptures and 3D collage. His multi-disciplinary approach presents aesthetically enchanting scenes which often on closer inspection reveal a darker subtext. Simeti appropriates and digitally modifies newspaper and magazine photographs of war scenes, environmental devastation and other acts of violence, re-arranging them to create images with a deliberate visual appeal that raise questions about the very nature of this imagery in contemporary society.
Francesco Simeti has created site-specific installations all over the world; his reinterpretations of public spaces and buildings facades include an installation on the MTA 18th Ave Station on the D line Bensonhurst Brooklyn, a permanent lobby mural in New York for a public school and a year-long-wrapping of a public building in Milan. He has exhibited worldwide including solo shows at Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, Miami (2012), Francesca Minini, Milan (2011), Santo Spirito, Rome (2010), Fondazione Pastificio Cerere, Rome (2010), Artists Space, New York City (2009), Italian Academy, Columbia University, New York (2005). Group exhibitions include Castello di Rivoli (2014), Triennale di Milano, Milan (2013 - 2014), Shanghai Biennal (2012), Exit Art, New York (2012), MASS MoCA, Massachusetts (2012), The Courtauld Institute of Art, London (2011), Pori Art Museum, Finland (2011), Ausstellungsraum Klingental, Basilea (2011), Fondazione Arnaldo Pomodoro, Milan (2010), MACRO Museo d´Arte Contemporanea Roma, Rome (2009), XV QUADRIENNALE, Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Rome (2008), ICA - Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, PA (2005). He is involved in ongoing design collaboration with Maharam, New York. His works are included in the following collections: Whitworth Art Gallery (Manchester), Victoria and Albert Museum (London), Philadelphia Museum (Philadelphia), Fabric Workshop and Museum (Philadelphia), RISD Museum (Providence), Cooper Hewitt, National Design Museum (New York), Civiche Raccolte Musei di Milano (Milan), Palazzo Belmonte Riso, Contemporary Art Museum (Palermo). Press Review: download here the selected press review |
