Cesare Pietroiusti
Professional Title: Professor of Fine Arts
Areas of Academic Focus and Expertise:
Performance art, relational practices
Education: Degree in medicine, with an essay on Psychiatry
Representative List of Recent Publications / Exhibitions:
Publications
Non Functional Thoughts, Studio Morra, Napoli, 1997; A Certain Number of Things, Civitella Ranieri Floundation, New York, Fondazione Olivetti, Roma, 2001; Tenkalaut (with Giancarlo Norese), Roma 2007.
Recent Exhibitions
"Paradoxycal Economy Four Performances" (Ikon Gallery and other locations, Birmingham, 2007); "Regali e regole. Prendere, dare, sbirciare nel museo" (with Stefano Arienti, MAMbo, Bologna, 2008); "Artworks that Ideas can Buy" (Project Space, Wilkinson Gallery, London, 2009);
"L'Argent" (Le Plateau, Paris, 2009); "Museum in the City" (Moderna Galerjia and various locations, Ljubljana, 2009); "Heaven" (2.nd Biennial, Athens, 2009); "28th Biennial of Graphic Arts" (Galerjia Alkatraz, Ljubljana, 2009); "Spazio" (MAXXi, Roma, 2010); "Trasparenze" (MACRO Testaccio, Roma; MADRE, Napoli, 2010); "Declining Democracy" (CCCS La Strozzina, Pal. Strozzi, Firenze, 2011); "Wide Open Space" (Hayward Gallery, London, 2012).
Cesare Pietroiusti's art practice focuses on problematic and paradoxical situations that are hidden in common relationships and in ordinary acts - thoughts that come to mind without a reason, small worries, quasi-obsessions that are usually considered too insignificant to become a matter of discussion, or of self-representation.
In 1994 Pietroiusti was available to do 'useful' things for anyone of the audience who would make a request: he walked dogs, gave shots, cleaned out cellars, and more. In 1997 he published Non Functional Thoughts (ed. Morra, Napoli), a small book containing approximately one hundred useless, parasite or incongruous ideas to be realized as art projects by anyone. Some of these ideas have been executed by artists and curators, such as for the exhibition "Democracy!" (London, 2000). In the last few years Pietroiusti mostly concentrated on the topic of the exchange, and on the paradoxes that arise in the folds of economic systems and rules. Starting from 2004 he irreversibly transformed banknotes given to him by other people; distributed thousands of drawings (always unique pieces, individually numbered and signed) for free; sold stories; swallowed banknotes at the end of an auction and subsequently given them back to the successful bidder after their defecation; opened a shop where the goods for sale are banknotes and the currency used to purchase them is the customer's gaze; set up shows where the artworks are for sale not in exchange of money, but of the best visitors? ideas, comments, or proposals.
www.nonfunctionalthoughts.net