BIOGRAPHY AND EXHIBITIONS - Mirko Demattè
Born in Trento on 9 September 1975.
An extrovert personality, yet capable of great introspection, Mirko Demattè approached the world of contemporary art after an inner maturation that led him to travel in search of his family roots. On his return from the United States, in the 16th century villa that was to become his atelier, he sketched his first paintings that have much of the vehemence of Action painting.
Matter is at the heart of Demattè's artistic production; Pollock, Fontana and Burri his inspirational fathers. The artist experiments with touching ease with figurative spaces of various widths and allegorical symbolism modelled in his chosen material, be it paper, wood or metal. Demattè imprints his own feelings into the materials; he often covers them with rough canvas brought into relief, anticipating the more accomplished stage of three-dimensionality, and paints them in vivid colours that look like enamel.
His works are forms of the soul; the viewer perceives the deep and linear sensitivity that conceived them, welcoming each creation with warm enthusiasm.
Nel 2009 una sua opera premia la maglia rosa del Giro d’Italia. Sempre nello stesso anno Mirko Demattè allestisce una personale alla Feltrinelli di Parma. Tra le opere esposte entra a far parte della collezione privata di Platinette, il personaggio Drag Queen vestito dal conduttore radiofonico e autore televisivo Mauro Coruzzi, un quadro appartenente alla fase di ossidazione dei metalli.
2011 opened with a prestigious exhibition in the exhibition hall of the UBS Bank in Lugano; the following October, one of his sculptures, moulded with the innovative material Woodn, was exhibited at Made Expo in Milan, Italy's most visited trade fair. During this period, the artist started a new pictorial vein in which white was his guiding thread.
Purity and freedom are the basis of this artistic cycle, without forgetting the ego that has to find a space in the cosmos. Since 2015, Mirko Demattè has also been the official artist of the Tour de Pologne, part of the UCI circuit of international professional cycling stage races. His works in Woodn annually honour the major winners of the top categories.
In 2013 he won first place in the national competition for schools Negrelli in Rovereto, Trento, sponsored by MART, the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Trento and Rovereto, with the work entitled ‘Costruzione Vitale’ (Vital Construction). In the same year, he was also selected to exhibit at the First International Art Biennale in Palermo.
In 2017, he exhibited with a solo show at Via Tortona 37, Milan, on the occasion of the Fuorisalone del Mobile; shortly afterwards also at the Fuoribiennale in Venice, at the prestigious Magazzini del Sale (‘Lo stato dell'arte ai tempi della 57° Biennale di Venezia’). He also exhibited at the International Museum of Gdansk (Poland) ‘Ekomateria’ and at Made Expo in Milan. Also in this year, he awarded the World Endurance Championship, one of the most popular and important equestrian disciplines.
His solo exhibition at the Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic in Białystok (Poland) garnered important recognition, together with the exhibition at the Ca' Zenobio degli Armeni Palace in Venice.
2018 is characterised by an exhibition on the theme of the Shoah at the Jewish Community in Milan, where he exhibits his travelling suitcases, and by ‘Art Now’ at the NH Art Hotel in Milan.
In 2019, he inaugurated a collaboration with the Atena Multiforme restaurant in Brescia, where he permanently exhibited several works. Demattè also maintains several contacts with collectors overseas, executing commissioned works for private residences in Miami - USA. He also exhibited at the Colonia Pavese in Torbole (TN) and one of his sculptures in copper and Woodn was presented to the Vatican Secretary of State.
The year 2020 is characterised by the stop due to the pandemic, in spite of which Demattè is called to the Venice Film Festival for the international art exhibition ‘Visual Art and Cinema’ at the Venice Art Gallery.
In 2021, he organised and presided over the ‘Artist's Residence’ in Madrano, in the 16th-century villa that is his permanent workshop and atelier; he then exhibited in October at MAD in Mantua for ‘Indagini Materiche’ and at Cantine Dolianova in Cagliari (art exhibition ‘Veritas’).
Between 2022 and 2023 he exhibited at ‘Salotto d'artista’, the exhibition hosted in Oristano by M Casa Architettura d'interni.
He also delivered a commissioned large-scale work to the Trentino company Zanetti Srl on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of its foundation.
In 2023, Demattè aims to follow in the vein already started with the series Costruzioni Contemporanee, with an eye to the future and a foot firmly rooted in the roots of contemporary art.
In spring this year, two pieces from the series were selected for the international art exhibition ‘Contemporary Icons’ at the Palazzo della Cancelleria Vaticana in Rome, curated by Anna Isopo (Arte Borgo Gallery) and Giorgio Vulcano.
In 2024, he was selected to participate in the 60th International Art Exhibition | La Biennale di Venezia 2024, as part of the exhibition ‘The Contact’, at the Bangladesh National Pavilion.
THE PRESENT
Mirko Demattè's artistic present in 2023 manifests itself as a journey into the depths of the theme ‘Contemporary Constructions’, a visual investigation that goes beyond material surfaces to explore the links between the human being and the context in which he lives, with all its structures.
Demattè's extrovert and naturally empathetic nature translates into art that conveys the essence of constructions, be they architectural or emotional. This artistic series is a bold statement that mixes material and colour to create a visual narrative that challenges the viewer to curiously explore their perceptions of reality.
Demattè's ‘Contemporary Constructions’ represent movement, change and fluidity. Every detail is nothing but an act of exploration, an attempt to capture the ever-changing essence of the world around us. In this artistic present, the artist strives to capture the energy of contemporaneity, transforming it into works that invite reflection on the complexity of the foundational structures of modern life. Demattè combines his desire to explore the outside world with the profound introspection that characterises his work. These constructions, which can be physical or metaphorical, are a reflection of a constantly evolving artistic identity.
In this artistic present, Mirko Demattè continues to challenge the boundaries of contemporary art, inviting us to explore our inner and outer constructions and to contemplate the deeper meaning of the structures that define us as individuals and as a society.
