STEFANO ARIENTI

Musica alle Tuileries (da Edouard Manet), 2024

plastiline on poster on panel

cm.h. 99 x 148

Provenance: the artist

Arienti considers himself more of a painter than a sculptor: he works with images and defines his approach as ‘pictorial’, although he does not paint in the traditional sense of the term. However, his work focuses strongly on the tactile values of painting. He often intervenes on painted or photographed figures, ‘implementing’ or ‘augmenting’ them with materials such as plasticine, modelling clay and puzzles. By adding matter to the image, Arienti transforms it, making it more tangible, vibrant and alive.

Stefano Arienti’s first solo exhibition at Christian Stein was held in 2019.

On view: Stefano Arienti - exhibition at Galleria Christian Stein, Milan 2025

Stefano Arienti lives and works in Milan. Recently, Arienti has begun to create installation works and exhibitions, shifting his analysis from the pure objectual datum to the environmental dimension. His research proceeds along the guidelines of a relationship with popular tradition, which has always been one of his characteristics, but is complemented by a retrospective look at his own art and technical achievements. He questions himself on the capacity of art, in a strict sense, to influence culture in a broader sense.

Arienti’s most important solo exhibitions:

Venice Biennale (Aperto 1990, 1993); the Istanbul Biennial (1992); Cocido y Crudo, Museo Reina Sofia, Madrid (1994); XII Rome Quadrennial, 1996 (first prize winner); Fatto in Italia, Centre d’Art Contemporain, Geneva; ICA, London (1997); and Gwangju Biennale (2008).

Arienti’s most recent solo exhibitions: MAXXI, Rome (2004); Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin (2005); Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston (2007); Fondazione Querini Stampalia, Venice (2008); MAMbo (2008); Palazzo Ducale, Mantua; Museion, Bozen (2011).