/ PAST WORKS 2021-2022 /
/ FRAMMENTI /
Frammenti di Paesaggio senza tempo ne spazio, è un progetto scultoreo in evoluzione, che immagina, plasma e contorce dimensioni fantastiche del divenire di un tempo e luogo indeterminato. Le sculture realizzate in stracci, gesso, acrilico e resina, rappresentano frammenti di altri mondi futuri, che si manifestano all’interno di cornici paesaggistiche reali e presenti, in un mescolarsi tra realtà e immaginazione.
I frammenti sono pensati come particelle dalle dimensioni indefinite, ingigantite nella loro esposizione al pubblico come se viste attraverso «telescopi giganti», per essere esaminate e osservate da «viaggiatori anomali in territori mistici»
Il progetto ha come referenza l’album Mondi Lontanissimi di Franco Battiato, in particolar modo la canzone No Time No Space, dal quale il progetto riprende il titolo
/ WHAT'S LEFT /
What's Left è una serie di sculture che ha come cardine la nozione di tempo e la riflessione sul futuro della contemporaneità.
Appesantiti dalle vesti sudicie e gravose del tempo, gli oggetti si presentano come cupi reperti del presente.
Trasformato l’ordinario in cruciale testimonianza dell’oggi, con il peso del passato e le sembianze del futuro, gli oggetti-reperti confondono il tempo e offrono una visione di continuità e scambio con l’antico.L’arcaico viene qui reso manifesto e letto non come qualcosa di circoscritto al passato, ma come elemento in costante divenire, che si lega al presente trasportandoci in una dimensione futura in cui gli elementi d’uso quotidiano dell’oggi diverranno cimeli di un tempo lontano.Pur volendosi simbolicamente collocare in un ipotetico avvenire, What's Left non fa altro che metterci dinanzi alla nostra relazione con la nozione di passato, in un dialogo dualistico e inesauribile di vicinanza-lontananza con la contemporaneità.Testo di Flaminia Ciuferri
/ PELLICOLE DICROICHE /
/ WORKS /
/ NARCISO /
Lodi, 2023
location / Platea
curated by / Niccolò Giacomazzi and Benedetta Monti
The mirror is made of a polyester photographic cloth, overlaid by dichroic film applied on glass.
The blackness gives depth and clarity to the reflected image, creating a dizzying chasm where one’s figure sinks, enriched by shades of color.
Narcissus is a project that explores the intimacy of reflection, self-eroticism and self- satisfaction as a gesture of pure love. The intimate sphere of narcissism is manifested gently, with compassion and affection, leaving out the pathological, violent and negative aspects associated with that word. It restores space to a poetic gesture where the celebration of one’s own image is sweet.
/ TOO FAR FOR LIGHT TO TRAVEL /
Roma, 2024
location / Galleria Valentina Bonomo
Contemplating on the finite nature of light, “Too Far for Light to Travel” ventures into the uncharted expanses of our Universe, delving beyond the visible horizon.
Within the gallery, 15 meters of light rays traverse space—a symbolic journey mirroring the staggering 15 billion light years, the furthest distance photons can traverse before dissipating into darkness. This boundary marks the edge of our observable universe, signifying the limits of human comprehension. Beyond this edge lies a territory shrouded in mystery, beckoning us to explore through the lens of creative speculation—a harmonious convergence of art and science.
The installation is made of eight columns, crafted from plexiglass coated with dichroic film. These semi-transparent structures serve as vessels, capturing and refracting light within their confines. It is this interplay of trapped light, dancing along the surfaces of the columns, that imbues them with vibrant hues and tangible presence.
Much like the cosmos itself, the columns exhibit an ever-shifting iridescence, dependent upon the viewer’s perspective and the ambient illumination. Each encounter with these mesmerizing structures invites contemplation of the interconnectedness of light, space, and human perception, transcending the confines of the tangible world to evoke a sense of wonder and curiosity.
This Art Project evokes the poetic line between tangible and intangible, between what we are given to know and what lives in darkness
/ SPACE HOUSE /
Roma, 2024
location / Fondazione Supernova
curated by / Niccolò Giacomazzi
My artistic research focuses on the element of reflection, initially understood as a narcissistic gesture that allows one to isolate and enhance one’s own image and open up new forms of self- perception.
Deepening this investigation, the second dimension accessed through the reflection has become increasingly more important, coming to be perceived as another reality, dislocated and equally present. This thought took on a disturbing overtones, sowing in my consciousness the feeling that the reflected image was not just the result of our optical mechanism, but a reality that observes us in return. We are the fragment, the doppelgänger of other realities. Reflections on parallel dimensions and portals of encounter, capable of questioning the centrality of our existence, led me to approach concepts from quantum physics. I was inspired by the idea that our reality is so improbable and possible only because all other possible realities are such: we are an improbable possibility of infinite possibilities. What is certain is that in the cosmos of all infinite dimensions we are not at the centre. The other realities are certainly not projections of our own, but - more likely - we are a small shades of much more probable realities. In reflecting myself, I like to think that I myself could be the consequence of a reflection. The iridescent mirrors are conceived as gates of communication between different realities, where rather than seeing a new one we realise that we are one ourselves, perhaps observed for an instant.
/ COLLATERAL DISPLAY /
Roma, 2023
location / Contemporary Cluster
curated by / Davide Mannocchi
Collateral Display is a modular installation, its conformation lacks specificity, showing the quality of natural adaptation from context to context. The work consists of a series of mirrored surfaces of varying colours made of glass, tempera and dichroic film. The work sets itself up as a vehicle for modifying space, acting on both the occupation and deformation of the mirrored image. The use of reflective surfaces generates a short circuit between the eye and the gaze, between observation and understanding.
The mirror object embraces mystical imagery: metaphorically identified by folklore as a demonic instrument, the mirror remains anchored to the concept of vanity and lust. D’Angelo reinterprets this reading by activating with Collateral Display a game of identification and alteration in the spectator. The multiplication of the irregular mirrored surfaces metaphorically replicates the fragmented reality of the contemporary world, its unequivocal disuniformity reinforcing the conviction that today emancipation from an individual vision of existence remains essential. Singular identity is in fact the opposite of art, the fragility of certainties is instead the only axiom capable of supporting the weight of the freedom of the artist.Text by Davide Mannocchi
/ AWAITING MIRABILIA /
Roma, 2022
location / Spazio Y
curated by / Benedetta Monti
in collaboration with / Spazio Y and Off1c1na
In Awaiting mirabilia ci si ritrova a essere attratti dall’ambiente fortemente ostile per trovare ciò che si mimetizza al suo interno ma non c’è sipario o soglia che divida l’operazione artistica dalla “vita reale”, delimitando nell’ambiente un inizio e una fine, non c’è transenna che faciliti il senso di comfort nello spettatore, qui l’organico è reale, l’inquietudine celebrata.Testo di Benedetta Monti
/ DEFAULT ORBIT /
Roma, 2022
location / Blocco 13
curated by / Sonia Andresano
We are immersed in a moment that unfolds within an already transpired event, a world of imagination unfurling before our eye. The artist himself stands as a stranger observing this distant world. Upon its creation and subsequent observation, he starts a voyage of rediscovery. The fragments composing this world have converged upon the surfaces of Blocco 13 Gallery, permeating the space with an irresistible energy. Each particle, varying in size and form, are observed through “giant telescopes” . Drawing inspiration from Franco Battiato’s evocative album, “Mondi Lontanissimi,” Default Orbit unveils unexplored territories through meticulous detail. From the shifting plates of Earth to the delicate streams of water, from remnants of comets to traces of meteorites, these elements exist as mere whispers, only discernible through the lens of imagination—a magnifying glass that not only brings the world into sharper focus but also invites us to look beyond, to venture elsewhere, away from the familiar confines of the present.Text by Sonia Andresano
/ LO SGUARDO OLTRE /
Roma, 2022
location / Forte Antenne
curated by / Sonia Andresano
in collaboration with / Fondazione SmArt
Non Ora is a sculptural representation of the stratification of a place. The livid, bright colours of the plaster and resin pseudo-flesh seem to recall a still open wound, a laceration that frightens but at the same time attracts the public. A plastic project that places sculptures that seem to belong to another time and another space in dialogue with each other. Time is transformed into matter, dismembered and reworked in a brutal and sensual play of shapes and colours.Text by Camilla Salvi
/ NON ORA /
Non Ora is a sculptural representation of the stratification of a place. The livid, bright colours of the plaster and resin pseudo-flesh seem to recall a still open wound, a laceration that frightens but at the same time attracts the public. A plastic project that places sculptures that seem to belong to another time and another space in dialogue with each other. Time is transformed into matter, dismembered and reworked in a brutal and sensual play of shapes and colours.Text by Camilla Salvi
/ EXHIBITIONS /
solo exhibitionsToo far for light to travel
→ Galleria Valentina Bonomo (Roma) 2024Space House
→ Fondazione Supernova, curated by Niccolò Giacomazzi (Roma) 2024Narciso
→ Platea, curated by Niccolò Giacomazzi and Benedetta Monti, (Lodi) 2023Default Orbit
→ Blocco 13, curated by Sonia Andresano and Carlo Alberto Bucci (Roma) 2023Awaiting Mirabilia
→ Spazio Y, curated by Benedetta Monti (Roma) 2022
collective exhibitionsEl Dorado
→ Museo Canonica Villa Borghese, curated by Alessandra Mammì (Roma) 2023
→ Arte in Nuvola international art fair, Galleria Valentina Bonomo, (Roma) 2023Post Scriptum (duo exhibition)
→ Contemporary Cluster Gallery, curated by Davide Mannocchi, (Roma) 2023+1, One plus One
→ Galleria Valentina Bonomo (Roma) 2023
→ Premio Fregellae, Museo Archeologico di Ceprano, curated by Ilaria Monti (Ceprano) 2022Vacunalia, Il tempo Scortese
→ Vacone curated by Niccolò Giacomazzi and Benedetta Monti (Vacone) 2022Lo sguardo oltre
→ Fondazione SmArt, Collective Exhibition, curated by Sonia Andresano, (Roma) 2022Archeologia del futuro
→ Ladispolenamente, Collective Exhibition, curated by Elisa Selli, (Ladispoli) 2021
/ ABOUT /
Valerio D'Angelo is an artist based in Rome, whose multidimensional practice explores the intersections of light, reflection, and color-changing surfaces.
Trained in Baroque decorative techniques, his practices began in the restoration, where he honed his skills in gold leafing and lacquering.
Transitioning into his artistic career, D'Angelo started a voyage of exploration, which manifest itself through sculpture, site-specific installations, and experimentations on materials. Starting from traditional artisanal practices, he delves into contemporary ways of expression, through the materiality of light emerging as a central motif.
At the heart of artist practice lies an inquiry into the nature of perception and reality. His installations transcend the physical confines of space, inviting viewers into immersive environments where light becomes both material and metaphor. Through intricate interplays of reflection and refraction, D'Angelo manipulates perception, in order to reconsider the understanding of the world around us. Central to D'Angelo's work are color-changing surfaces, crafted from dichroic film, which undergo mesmerizing transformations depending on the viewer's perspective, surrounding space and lighting. These dynamic elements serve as portals to otherworldly dimensions, where reality and imagination converge in a kaleidoscope of hues.
Conceptually, D'Angelo's work navigates the spaces between science and fiction, drawing inspiration from post-apocalyptic dystopian narratives. In his exploration of light and shadow, he confronts existential questions about the nature of life, by creating alternate realities where the boundaries of perception are blurred.
Through speculative artistic research he reasons about the transformative power of imagination.
This reflection leads the artist to imaginative reality, in which art and science fiction merge, posing as the last refuge or first hypothesis of a new representation.
/ CONTACTS /
Valerio D'Angelo is rappresented by Valentina Bonomo
personal e-mail valeriodangelo@proton.me
portfolio download / CV download / instagram
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