FABRIZIO PLESSI WORKS

Fabrizio Plessi, born in 1940 in Reggio Emilia, is a renowned Italian artist with an extensive body of work in the field of video installations. After graduating from the art high school in Reggio Emilia, he continued his education at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice, where he earned his degree in 1962. From the beginning, Fabrizio Plessi's artwork has centered on the theme of water and fire, represented on large screens that highlight their majesty and beauty. Throughout 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 Expo in Hannover, with a monumental installation 44 meters high called Mare verticale. This artwork 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 Padiglione Venezia for the 54th Venice Biennale, maintaining the same theme of water, but on a smaller scale. On this occasion, he installed screens projecting water flows on boats displayed vertically, 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 two windows of the house are screens that, although now non-functional, used to project images of water and fire. This artwork was installed in 2007 on the occasion of the bicentennial of the municipality, during the construction 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 around the world, from the Galleria di Canale in Venice in 1962, to the retrospective exhibition at the Rotonda della Besana in Milan in 1985. His works have been exhibited in major cities such as Madrid, Zaragoza, Cologne, Palma de Mallorca, Ferrara, Denmark, Japan, Berlin, Valencia, Bologna, Bilbao, Vienna, and many others.
Fabrizio Plessi's art spans various creative fields, including installations, video, film, performances, set designs, and costumes for shows. For the artist, art represents a basic foundation for the human spirit, especially in the barren contemporary landscape.
The central element characterizing 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, emanating 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.
Besides water, fire is another element present in the works of Fabrizio Plessi. For the artist, fire represents a fascinating attraction, a fire that does not burn. Fire is also represented in virtual form through videos, always in motion 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 São Paulo Biennial, and the Rome Quadriennale, also receiving an award. He taught at the Kunsthochschule in Cologne as a professor of the humanization of technologies from 1990 to 2000. Fabrizio Plessi continues to live and work between Venice and Mallorca, carrying on his artistic research and leaving his mark in the world of contemporary art with his fascinating video installations.