Fabrizio Plessi biography

Fabrizio Plessi, born in 1940 in Reggio Emilia, is a renowned Italian artist with a wide production in the field of video installations. After graduating from the artistic high school of Reggio Emilia, he continued his education at the Academy of Fine Arts of Venice, where he graduated in 1962. Since its inception, Fabrizio Plessi's work has had water and fire as its central theme, represented on large screens that enhance its majesty and beauty. Over the course of his career, Fabrizio Plessi has created numerous works of great visual impact, exhibiting mainly in Italy and Germany.
In 2000, he created the Italian pavilion for the Hannover Expo, with a monumental 44 meter high installation called Vertical Sea. This work represented a continuous flow of blue water that flowed uninterruptedly, capturing the attention of visitors with its grandeur and suggestion. In 2011, Fabrizio Plessi curated the Venice Pavilion for the 54th Venice Biennale, maintaining the same theme of water, but on a smaller scale. On this occasion, he installed screens projecting the flows of water onto vertically displayed boats, creating a unique and engaging atmosphere.
One of the artist's most famous works is the Casa Cadente, located in Piazza Bonini in Soveria Mannelli, in the province of Catanzaro. This Installation represents the facade of a tilted house, as if it were about to collapse forward. The house's two windows are screens that, although now nonfunctional, projected images of water and fire. This work was installed in 2007 on the occasion of the bicentenary of the municipality, during the construction works of the square itself.
Fabrizio Plessi's fame has crossed Italian borders, bringing his works to numerous international exhibitions. He has held numerous solo exhibitions all over the world, from the Galleria di Canale in Venice in 1962, to the anthological exhibition at the Rotonda della Besana in Milan in 1985. His works have been exhibited in important cities such as Madrid, Zaragoza, Cologne, Palma de Mallorca, Ferrara, Denmark, Japan, Berlin, Valencia, Bologna, Bilbao, Vienna and many others.
Fabrizio Plessi's art ranges across different creative fields, including installations, videos, films, performances, scenography and costumes for shows. For the artist, art represents a basic foundation for the human spirit, especially in the arid contemporary landscape.
The central element that characterizes his works is water, represented in virtual form through videos. Fabrizio Plessi considers the video as a contemporary element, while water is an ancient and primordial element. Both are fluid, mobile and unstable, giving off a blue glow that fascinates the artist. Water in Fabrizio Plessi's works becomes a place of reflection and imagination, devoid of life but a metaphor for the infinity of the human mind.
In addition to water, fire is another element present in Fabrizio Plessi's works. For the artist, fire represents a fascinating attraction, a fire that does not burn. Fire is also represented in virtual form through videos, always moving and full of meanings and emotions.
Fabrizio Plessi has received recognition and awards for his career. He has participated in numerous editions of the Venice Biennale, the Documenta in Kassel, the Bienal de San Paolo and the Quadriennale di Roma, also receiving an award. He taught at the Kunsthochschule Cologne as professor of humanization of technologies from 1990 to 2000. Fabrizio Plessi continues to live and work between Venice and Mallorca, pursuing his artistic research and leaving his mark in the world of contemporary art with his fascinating video installations.