Mattia Biagi (born 1974 in Ravenna) is an Italian professional artist. He currently resides and works in Los Angeles.
Professional background
Biagi's work is shown internationally at galleries and museums such as The Mint Museum of Craft + Design in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Not long after graduating art and design school in Milan, Mattia Biagi arrived in Los Angeles. He was immediately impressed by one of the city’s most famous landmarks, the La Brea Tar Pits, which became the influence for his initial body of work in the U.S.
"I was intrigued with tar as a medium and how it illuminates and highlights objects in a very esoteric and ethereal sense."
The mix of a traditional Italian background with life in America has made quite an impact on his creative process.
In this new body of work, Biagi explores through multi-media forms the desire to make tangible a belief in supernatural causality and its cultural nuances.
By traversing abstract sculpture, video, painting, photography and performance he will investigate human emotional reaction to physical objects that have superstitious associations.
Galleries and exhibits
Solo exhibitions
| 2007: | Edie And Andy, Deborah Page Gallery, Santa Monica, California |
| 2008: | We All Are Guilty, We All Are Victims, And I Am The First One, Los Angeles, California |
| Rose Like A Phoenix From The Ashes, Anna Kustera Gallery, New York City |
| 2009: | Sweet Dreams Are Made Of These, Holster Projects Gallery, London, England |
| Panni Stesi, Red Building, Los Angeles, California |
| 2010: | Recognize Your Spiritual Need, Rediscover Your Faith In Your Religion, Holster Projects Gallery, London, England |
| 2011: | Solo Show, Officine dell’Immagine – SCOPE Basel 2011, Switzerland |
| Storm Of Life, Italian institute of culture, Los Angeles, California | |
| Freedom, LA Art Show, Los Angeles, California | |
| Black Tar, Officine dell'Immagine, Milan, Italy |
| 2012: | Welcome To The Jungle, New Gallery Of Modern Art, Los Angeles, California |
| 2013: | Someone Told Me Never To Do It, Anna Kustera Gallery, New York City |
| Family Business, New York City |
Group exhibitions
| 2005: | Don O Melveny Gallery, Los Angeles, California |
| 2006: | Red Dot, Patricia Faure Gallery, New York City |
| Patricia Faure Gallery, Santa Monica, California |
| 2007: | Art Basel, Miami, Florida |
| The Black Market Show, Anna Kustera Gallery, New York City | |
| High And Dry, Smoke And Fog, Phantom Galleries, Los Angeles, California | |
| Shippensburg University, Shippensburg, Pennsylvania | |
| Stephen F. Austin State University, Austin, Texas | |
| Harper College, Palatine, Illinois |
| 2009: | Sweet Dreams Are Made of These, Holster Projects Gallery, London |
| 2010: | ART Tokyo, Berengo Gallery, Tokyo |
| 2011: | From White To Black, Castello di Rivara, Turin, Italy |
| B-B-BAD: Anna Kustera Gallery, New York City | |
| MYSTERIOUS OBJECTS: Santa Ana College, Santa Ana, California | |
| SU NERO NERO: Foundation Franz Paludetto, Rome |
| 2012: | Fairy-tales, Fantasy & Fear, Mint Museum Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina |
| 2013: | Le Dictateur, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France |
Public and Selected Notable Private Collections
Before Midnight - Mint Museum - North Carolina - NC (2012)
Print media
| 2005: | LA Confidential |
| Surface Magazine, Issue No. 54 | |
| 2006: | Le vie dell’auto (Italy) |
| Los Angeles Times, Home Section, March 30 | |
| Pop Life Magazine, Issue No. 1 | |
| Angeleno Magazine | |
| Interior Design, Issue No. 14, November 1 | |
| Interior Design, Issue No. 6, May 31 | |
| Flaunt Magazine, Issue No. 71 | |
| ArtTravel, Issue No. 11 | |
| 2007: | Maison et Objet Paris, Inspirations Book (Cahier d’Inspirations), No. 10: Celebration |
| Zink Magazine, February Issue | |
| Stílus Magazin (Hungary), March Issue | |
| AMPM Magazine (Taiwan) | |
| 944 Magazine, May Issue | |
| Binyan Vediur Magazine (Israel) | |
| 2012: | Il Giornale, Italy |
| Artfuse | |
| Artinfo | |
| Corriere della sera, Italy |
Further reading
- Taglialagamba, Sara; and Galluzzi, Francesco. Mattia Biagi - Black Tar, Milan: Skira, 2011. ISBN 978-88-572-0979-1
