Andrea Francolino (b. 1979), the winner of the prestigious 2014 San Fedele Prize, was born in Bari, Italy and attended the Art School of Matera before studying at the Accademia delle Belle Arti, from where he graduated in 2004 with a degree in Sculpture. Working in painting, photography, sculpture and digital art, Francolino seeks to use a combination of strong messages and concepts (at times unwelcome) in order to communicate his thoughts on a consumerist and ad-consumed society. The dichotomy between the vulnerability of man and perfection of nature is the driving force behind Francolino’s work. He questions the sense of existence, of things and of art, through the evolution of man as a ‘cultural animal’, an animal which of all living beings influences nature so greatly, through forms of consumerism, materialism and hedonism. All this is explored through the cracks and the concrete in his work. “Looking at a crack is like looking at the universe: I reflect on the sense of life and of things.” he says. Andrea Francolino is one of the founders of The Open Box , a non profit space for art in Milano.
Solo exhibitions include Intra materia Natura infinita, curated by Bettina DelleCasa, Milan, Italy (2018); Principi di mutamento, curated by Jessica Bianchera, Spazio Cordis, Verona (2018); Chance × chaos × infinite variables, The Open Box, curated by Giorgio Fasol, Milan, Italy (2018); Ciments, nm> Contemporary, Monaco (2017); From | To, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, London (2016); Elisabeth Scherffig/Andrea Francolino, The Open Box, Verona (2015); Ricerche nel Quotidiano, Galleria San Fedele, Milan (2015); A-Biotic, Kristin Hjellegjerde, London (2014); Journey Into Reality, Spazio Testoni, Bologna (2013).
Group exhibitions include Powder and light, curated by G. L. Marcone, nm> Contemporary, Monaco (2018); Nexst Festival, Piazza Carlina, Turin, Italy (2017); Mythologies, Palazzo Palmieri, curated by Roberto La Carbonara, Monopoli, Italy (2017); Premio Bugatti Segantini, Curated By M. Corgnati , Nova Milanese (2017); Summary 15/17, The Open Box, Milan (2017); Urban Papers, Rotella Masi Francolino, Frittelli arte contemporanea, Florence (2016); In principio è la terra, curated by K. Macmanus, M. Galbiati, Forte di Gavi (2016); Forever Young (2016) and Do You Have Barbaric Taste? ( 2015 ), exhibitions of the collection of Alain Servais in Brussels; and Tracks/Traces, The Open Box, Milan (2015). Francolino currently lives and works in Milan.