Giuseppe Pietroniro : ALL IN ONE

The Italian Institute of Culture in Belgrade is pleased to host the opening of All in One, a solo exhibition by Italian artist Giuseppe Pietroniro, curated by Nataša Radojević, along with the presentation of the monograph Giuseppe Pietroniro, published by Silvana Editoriale and curated by Giuliana Benassi.

 

The exhibition will be inaugurated by H.E. Luca Gori, Ambassador of Italy to Serbia, and Roberto Cincotta, Director of the Italian Institute of Culture in Belgrade.

For this occasion, Giuseppe Pietroniro will present a site-specific, life-sized pencil installation titled All in One, transforming the walls of the Institute into a room with distorted perspectives.

This immersive drawing, extending across the entire surface, creates a dynamic dialogue between physical space and visual perception. Integrating paper elements and other materials, Pietroniro blurs the boundary between illusion and reality, offering a tangible, spatial experience.

 

 

Following presentations at MAXXI (Rome), MAMbo (Bologna), and the Museum of Novecento (Milan), the monograph Giuseppe Pietroniro, published by Silvana Editoriale will be introduced to the Belgrade audience.

Enriched with a large photographic repertoire, the book offers a visual reading of the artist’s thinking, which has, since his early works, explored a deep reflection on the concept of space. This theme, which pervades his work, has its roots in his academic background in set design, influencing his conception of space. Rome, the city that serves as the backdrop for his work, becomes a kind of "theatrical backdrop," inspiring his creations between Baroque facades and classical perspective lines.

The monograph is conceived as a narrative space, where the images do not follow a rigid chronology but intertwine with contributions from authors such as Giuliana Benassi, Manuel Orazi, Jelena Todorović, Francesco Stocchi, Davide Ferri, Lorenzo Benedetti, and Claudia Gioia. This composition offers a visual and critical narrative reflecting the artist's biography and the context of a generation that experienced the changes at the turn of the new millennium in a continuously evolving Italy.

The presentation will be moderated by curator of the volume Giuliana Benassi, and will include contributions from Giuseppe Pietroniro and Jelena Todorović, professor at the Academy of Fine Arts.

Giuseppe Pietroniro (1968, Canada) trained under the guidance of Ettore Spalletti during his high school years in Pescara, later at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome. After a brief stay in New York, he returned to Rome, where he worked as an assistant in the studio of Joseph Kosuth. His work has been displayed in major museum institutions and collections. He lives and works in Rome. 

 

Giuseppe Pietroniro explores various expressive languages, including painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, and installations, synthesizing elements from different traditions. His work focuses on space, voids, and the ability of places to transform those who inhabit them. His research investigates the limits of reality perception, inviting existential and psychological reflections. The artist uses noble materials to deepen the relationship between object and project, and between space and vision, trying to tell a philosophical dimension through everyday objects modified to create optical illusions and challenge the viewer’s gaze.
Pietroniro does not identify with the figure of the illusionist artist, but rather as a creator who subverts the perception of space. His works dissolve the boundaries between reality and the virtual, inviting the viewer to reconsider their point of view. The use of visual devices recalls the words of Bernini, who defined ingenuity as a magical art capable of deceiving the eye to amaze.
Pietroniro often tests the viewer’s voyeuristic desire, inviting them to explore closed spaces and confront what is hidden. Interactivity becomes essential, stimulating reflection that encourages the viewer to reconsider reality from a new perspective.
The concept of “de-margining” in Pietroniro’s work concerns overcoming the physical and conceptual limits of reality. The objects in his works communicate directly with the unconscious, questioning traditional definitions and inviting exploration of the margins of things as spaces for transformation. His work reflects on boundaries and how these influence our perception of the world.
Pietroniro's works, with their playful character, invite the viewer into a magical and surreal world, where the rules of the game are overturned. The artist challenges the very concept of space, creating a suspended temporal dimension that induces visual disorientation, a loss of geometric reference points. This "liquidity" of perspectives reflects the rapid changes of the past thirty years, marked by continuous transformation and the feeling of living in a precarious and shifting space.

 

The project is realized in collaboration with Drina Gallery, Untitled Association and Silvana Editoriale.

All in One exhibition will be open to the public until April 22, 2025, Monday to Thursday from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM, and on Fridays from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM.

 

Italian Institute of Culture in Belgrade
Kneza Miloša 56, Belgrade