ABOUT

Since 1998 Opiemme is looking for new ways of presenting poetry. The artist’s poetics is known to get in touch the visual art world with the one of literature, with references to visual poetry and street poetry actions. In 2013 The Huff Post underlined how the artist is about plumbing the fine lines between public art, street art, and the written word to bring poetry out into the open.
Opiemme has been defined as “poet of street art”, for public art interventions, installations, calligrams and collective performances used for bringing verses in the street. Poetry becomes a medium for painting new images, and images become words for writing new poetry.

Beginning his quest before 2000, Opiemme currently lives and works in Turin, Italy.

The Huffington Post, Brooklyn Street Art, on the project “A Journey through painting and poetry“:
“For decades graffiti writers have been checking out one anothers’ bonafides with this question. Even as tags turned to large complex pieces, evermore stylized through means of exaggeration or obfuscation, text has always stayed as a fundamental building block for graffiti writers. Italian fine artist and street artist Opiemme took a variety of routes to employ the text-based art on the street this summer with its “journey through painting and poetry,” a project inspired by poets he loves.
Breaking apart, recombining, stretching and spreading the written letterform, the public poetic paintings were conceived to be site-specific and included walls and pavement installations across Italy from north to south […]”

PUBLICATIONS

Edoardo Di Mauro, Paola Russo (2020), Una dimensione etica: storia e presente dell’arte pubblica, Prinp
Daniele Tozzi (2017), Words into shapes – The graphic art of calligram, Monsa Publications
Elena Paloscia (2016), Vortex, Matlisko (Ravenna edition’s catalog)
Francesco Scopellitti (2016), La via dell’agave, Matlisko (cover)
Nicholas Ganz (2015), Street messages, Dokument Press Distribution
Luca Beatrice (2015), Imago Mundi Praestigium Italia I Contemporary artist from Italy, Fabrica
Clara Isabel Martínez Cantón (2014), Cuestiones Métricas. La Rima y el Estribillo, Punto Rojo Libros S.L.
Elena Cornacchione (2013), Parole che si fanno strada,La Caravella Editrice
Luca Beatrice (2011), Km 011. Arti a Torino. 1995-2011, Allemandi
Opiemme (2009), Sette, Prospettiva Editrice (narrative)
Opiemme (2003), Sfioraci, Prospettiva Editrice (poems)

SELECTED WORKS

2019
“In Limine Mundi”, Burning Giraffe Art Gallery (17 January, 20 April)

2018 
“di Parole faccio Arte”, Giorgio Milani, Sabrina D’Alessandro and Opiemme, for Whitelight Art Gallery
group show in Milano – via Copernico 38, from 30 January till 21 December 2018
Opiemme’s solo shows:
Rome – Clubhouse Barberini Via San Basilio 48, from 2nd of march 2018 till 23rd of april 2018
Torino – Copernico Garibaldi C.so Valdocco 2, from 18th of may – till 10th of september 2018
Milano– Copernico Piazza Castello 13, from 2nd of october – till 21st december 2018

2017
“Street Arts Volant!”, group show, Museo della Scrittura, Torino, IT (01.10 – 14.1.2018)

2016
Per aspera ad astra: Vortex, Rosso20sette Gallery, critical essay by Alessandra Caldarelli, Roma, IT (16.11 – 24.12)
Vortex solo show, Palazzo Rasponi, curated by Elena Paloscia, Ravenna, IT (08.10 – 30.11)
Heart-shaped box: a Vortex show, curated by Karin Gavassa, Pinacoteca Modigliani, Follonica, IT (16.07 – 02.10)
Urban Art Fair, Portanova12 Gallery (Bologna), Paris, FR

2015
Swab Fair, Portanova12, Barcelona, ES
Imago Mundi, group show, Fondazione Cini, Venezia, IT (31.08 – 01.11)
Imago Mundi, group show, curated by Luca Beatrice, Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Torino, IT
Vortex, solo show, Portanova12, Bologna, IT (06.03 – 18.04)
Vortex, solo show, BI-BOx Gallery, Biella, IT (6.02 – 08.03)

2014
5th Bienal del Fin del Mundo, Ginnastica della visione curated by P. Angelosanto, Mar de la Plata, ARG
The Others Fair, BI-BOx Art Space, Torino, IT
Setup Fair, BI-BOx Art Space, “Tune & Anchovies”, critic award prize winner, Bologna, IT

2013
“In Natura”, collettiva, Zak Gallery, Siena, IT
The Others Fair, BI-BOx Art Space, “A conspiracy of ravens”, Torino, IT
Opiemme and Alessandra Maio, Spazio Blue, curated by Marta Gabriele, Bologna, IT
Stroke Urban Art Fair, Studio D’Ars (Milano), Munich & Berlin, GR
Parole di Carta, solo show, Elastico Studio, curated by Antonio Storelli, Bologna, IT
Polaris, solo show, Studio D’Ars, curated by Alice Zannoni, Milano, It
Step09 Fair, with BI-BOx Art Space (Biella), Milano IT
Setup Fair, BI-BOx Art Space (Biella), curated by Marta Gabriele, Bologna, IT

2012
“Peace”, site specific for Zak (Siena), The Others Fair, curated by Nicoletta Betta, Torino, IT
“No Flags”, site specif, Caos Museum, Terni, IT
“The party is Over”, site specific at Untubo Siena, curated by Gaia Pasi, IT
Solo show, Galleria Punto Due, curated by Daniele Decia, Calice Ligure IT
Swab Fair, Zak Gallery, Barcelona, ES
“While In”, group show, Zak Gallery, curated by Gaia Pasi, Castello di Monteriggioni, IT
Art First – Bologna, Zak Gallery, Castello di Monteriggioni, IT

2011
“You can’t eat culture”, The Others Fair, Zak Gallery, Castello di Monteriggioni, IT
“No Flags V.01”, solo show, Weber-Lutgen, curated by Claudio Cravero, Sevilla, ES
“Over Black Black”, group show, CAC Castello di Rivara, curated by Diletta Benedetto, IT
“No Flags”, solo show Dieffe Arte Contemporanea, curated by Susanna Mandice, Torino, IT
“Km011”, group show, Natural Science Museum, curated by Luca Beatrice, Torino, IT
“Mtv brand new art“, Mambo (Bologna), Fondazione Puglisi Cosentino (Catania), La Permanente (Milano), IT

2010
“InSede”, group show, curated by Francesco Poli, Elisa Lenhard Torino, IT

2007
“Nuovi Arrivi”, group show, Belle Arti Accademy, an Artissima event, Torino, IT

2006
Incroci, duo show with Tina Sgrò, curated by Monica Trigona, Dieffe Gallery, Torino, IT

SELECTED PUBLIC ART

2017
“Street Stars”, Pole 65, mural for “Walk The Line”, Genova, It
“Remanufacture & Harring”, murals for “Urban Forms”, Lodz, Pl “Black hole sun“, murale per “Urban Forms, Lodz, Pl
“Pisces”, a mural with the students of school “Via Giuseppe Messina”, Cinecittò, Roma, It
“Dolphins“, tributo a Sibillla Aleramo, mural for “Vedo a Colori”, Civitanova Marche, It

2016
Collective performance and mural for Urban Forms, Lodz, PL Gunter Grass Festival, Gdansk, PL
Mural Heart-shaped Box, Follonica, IT Light installation, Museo Magma, Follonica, IT
Mural for Buridda LSOA, Genova, IT
Rotolini di Poesia-Poetry scrolls, World Poetry Day, Bologna, IT

2015
Brandalism, Cop21, Paris, FR
Teatro delle Rocce, Migrazione, curated by Karin Gavassa, Gavorrano, IT
Intralci performance, Gianluca Petrella – Opiemme, Ambriajazz, Castionetto di Chiuro, Sondrio, IT

2014
StreetScape, Comon, public installation, Como, IT
Mural for Monumental Art Fest, Tribute to Wislawa Szymborska, Gdansk, Poland, PL
Street like a Rainbow, mural with Chekos, Castellaneta, Taranto, It
Fondazione Campori, public installation, Soliera, IT
Ahab’s Whale, MAU, Torino, IT
Ask the dust ask the people, (a new step for “A journey through painting and poetry” proj.) Port au Prince, Haiti

2013
A journey through painting and poetry, “Breaking apart, recombining, stretching and spreading the written letterform, the public poetic paintings were conceived to be site-specific and included walls and pavement installations across Italy from north to south, including Torino, Bologna, Rieti, Pizzo Calabro, Faggiano (Taranto), Ariano Irpino, Menfi, Genova, Tirano (Sondrio), and finally Rome.” Brooklyn Street Art.
On The Huffington Post

2012
“21.12 Rebirth Day”, mural for Arte al Centro, Fondazione Pistoletto, IT
Murals for Sobe Festival, El Magazein Gallery, Vodnjan, HR

2011
Performance for “Barbarism Kills”, AntePrimaVera, Mart, curated by Dalia Macii, Rovereto, IT
“Barbarism Kills“, video performance, Torino, IT
“Rotolini Ricostituenti“, poetry installation, Torino, IT
2008 “A polite display of power“, video performance, Torino, IT
2007 “Fuxia Bus Stop”, Torino, IT