Filippo Berta

Filippo Berta (1977). He is represented Prometeo Gallery (Milan, Lucca, IT). Professor at FMAV - Modena Visual Arts Foundation (IT). In 2019 he was the winner of the Italian Council V Edition with the project One by One, supported by Nomas Foundation of Rome, Sapienza University of Rome and GAMeC Museum of Bergamo (IT). In 2015 he won the MIA Foundation Award (Bergamo, IT); in 2014 the Maretti Prize (La Habana, Cuba) and he was a finalist of the Talent Prize in Rome. In 2008 he was among the winners of the International Performance Award, 4th edition (Civic Gallery, Trento). From 2012 to 2023 he exposed at: Pistoletto Foundation of Biella (IT), MADRE Museum (Naples, IT), MSU Museum of Contemporary Art (Zagreb, HR), Prometeo Gallery (Milan, IT), GAMeC Museum (Bergamo, IT), Jönköpings Läns Museum (SE), Nomas Foundation (Rome, IT), Matadero (Madrid, SP), Museion Museum (Bolzano, IT), State Museum of Contemporary Art of Thessaloniky (GR), MART Museum (Trento, IT), Triennale (Milan, IT), MACC Foundation (Calasetta, IT), Pori Art Museum (FIN), Victoria Art Center (Bucharest, RO), Fabbri Foundation (Pieve di Soligo, IT), MEF Museum (Turin, IT), Grimmmuseum (Berlin, DE), MOG Museum (Goa, India), Civic Gallery of Gdansk (PL), Städtische Galerie of Bremen (DE), National Brukenthal Museum of Sibiu (RO), MAO Museum (Ljubljana, SL), CZKD Center for Cultural Decontamination (Belgrade, SR). Biennials: Bienalsur (Buenos Aires, 2023), Thessaloniki Biennale (GR, 4th and 6th edition), Curitiba Biennale (BR, 34th edition), Prague Biennale (CZ, V Edition) and the Moscow Biennale for Young Art (RU, 3th edition). Selected residencies for artists: Ratti Foundation (Como, IT, 2012), Spinola Banna Foundation (Turin, IT, 2009). Selected festivals: International Festival “Occidente Oriente” of Contemporary Dance at MART Museum, Rovereto (IT, 38th edition), 30th International Festival of Sarajevo (2014), International Konst Film (2013, Sweden), Corpus 3 (2012, Naples), Romaeuropa Festival (2012, Rome), Tulca-After the fall (2011, Galway, IR), European Performance Art Festival (2011, Warsaw, PL).

STATEMENT

The tensions inherent in the individual, caused by frictions with the society of belonging, constitute the artistic urgency of Filippo Berta, who in his works shows how the fragility of the human being is expressed through different forms of boundaries, dualisms and subordinations. This is the reason why since the year 2008, he began to make collective performances based on a single choral, simple and unifying gesture in disharmony with the peculiarities of each individual person, who simply self-represents himself with the uniqueness of his physical presence. In summary, it can be argued that his works are a parody of human nature, even when the human being is represented in the allegorical form of the animal. His performances are the concretization of a drawing, in which Berta seeks an extreme synthesis in the drawn image, which then materializes in a photographic shot. In other cases, video becomes necessary, as the performance action is closely linked to places inaccessible to the public. The editing of the video is designed so that any form of fiction and narration is reduced to a minimum.