Valentina Maggi Summo (1981) is an artist and professor based in Milan. Her research investigates how narrative and language — both within private and mediated dimensions — can influence and transform the identity of concepts, spaces and anecdotes, infusing them with patterns and visions and constructing mental places. Through her work she explores the fissure between the real and the experienced dimensions and investigates the rituality of the contexts in which human relationships unfold across different socio-cultural and political spheres.
Her practice has developed across museum institutions, independent spaces and artist-run contexts that have shaped the Italian contemporary art scene since 2008. Her work has been exhibited, among other institutional and independent venues, at: Triennale di Milano; MAXXI Museum (Rome); FM Centro per l’Arte Contemporanea (Milan); Isola Art Center (Milan); Museo di Villa Croce (Genoa); Palazzo Ducale (Genoa); Caffè Internazionale (Palermo); P.Ar.Co Pavilion of Contemporary Art, Casier (Treviso); S.a.L.E. Docks (Venice); Galleria Bianconi (Milan); Careof (Milan); Federico Bianchi Gallery (Milan); Casa del Cinema – Villa Borghese (Rome); Surplace Art Gallery – Zentrum (Varese); Galerie ESCA (Nîmes, France); Centro Culture Contemporanee Zo (Catania); Palazzo Affari (Milan); Fondazione Merz (Turin).
Selected Exhibitions
(* Catalogues and special pubblications)
Underlined titles link to the related pages
2018
(duo solo show) Braked Ping Pong Valentina Maggi Summo and Sophie Usunier
curated by Ermanno Cristini
Riss(e)-Zentrum, Varese, I
Hotello, somnia et labora: Abitare un ritardo
curated by Ermanno Cristini e Giancarlo Norese
whitin exhibition 999. Una collezione di domande sull’abitare contemporaneo
curated by Stefano Mirti
La Triennale di Milano, I *
Attimi di arresto. Polvere, sfocature e rotolacampi,
curated by Ermanno Cristini and Francesca Petrolo
Tenuta Petrolo, Ticinallo I *
2017
Perché non sono riuscito mai a nuotare ho deciso di volare
various curators involved
Federico Bianchi gallery, FM contemporary art center, Milan, I
MAXXI Museum, Rome, I
curated by Zentrum
Umberto Cavenago’s studio, Brugherio, Milan, I
Turin, I
(duo solo show) Ideoscriptura, Ermanno Cristini Valentina Maggi Summo
Masnago Castle, Museum of Contemporary and Modern Art, Varese, I
curated by Marco Andrea Magni and Serena Fineschi
Surplace Art Gallery – Zentrum, Varese
Tutto a posto e niente in ordine
working-group exhibition for Studi Festival#3, Studio MVK, Milan; I
2016
Kunsthalle Palermo oppure gran fiera d’ammenniccoli pseudo criso-elefantini
curated by Stefania Galegati, Darrell Shines and Davide Ricco
Caffè internazionale, Palermo; I
exhibition with Caffè internazionale
at i7 indipendent spaces | Art Verona
2016-2015
Psichic TV, itinerant video screening
curated by Collettivo Decifra
Spazio Ferramenta, Turin
Studio Ellisse, Venice
P.Ar.Co Pavilion of Contemporary Art, Casier (Treviso)
IV Open Studios, Venice
2014
curated by Francesca Guerisoli
Sala Dogana – Palazzo Ducale, Genova, I
Diari Urbani #2
curated by Chiara Massini
P.Ar.Co Pavillion of Contemporary Art Casier, Treviso, I
curated by Francesca Guerisoli
Specchia (LE), I *
2013
curated by Chiara Massini
Limonaia di Villa Strozzi, Florence, I
2012
Isola Art Center working-group exhibition
Frigoriferi Milanesi, Milan, I *
curated by Francesca Guerisoli, Gabi Scardi and Cecilia Guida
Villa Croce Contemporary Art Museum, Genova, I
curated by Julia Draganovic and Federica Patti
Bianconi Gallery, Milan, I
curated by Motel B
Rua Sovera, Brescia, I
2011
recommended artist at XV Biennale del Mediterraneo, shortlist
Latitudine 45° 28-38” 28N – Longitudine 09°10- 53” 40E
Crima’rt Gallery, Milan, I
curated by Bert Theis, Marco Baravalle, Camilla Pin and Valeria Mancinelli
S.a.L.E., Venice, I
2010
curated by Francesca Chiacchio, Sara Errico and Anna Caterina Bleuler
private apartments, Milan, I *
curated by Chiara Massini
auditorium Santa Chiara, Vercelli, I
Supermegadrops 6 a selection from the video library Careof-DOCVA
curated by Mario Gorni
CRAC – Contemporary Art Research Centre, Cremona, I
Horror vacui, Occupying the present
curated by Valerio Del Baglivo and Aria Spinelli
Isola Art Center, Milan, I
2009
Isola Randagia
Isola Art Center, LACCA, Milan, I *
Festival della bassa risoluzione
curated by Valentina Vetturi and Anna Lovecchio
Public spaces, Bari *
The others
curated by Francesco Jodice *
Public Turbulence. Disordine in Pubblico
curated by Bert Theis
Isola Art Center, Milan, I
Isola Rosta Project 3
curated by Bert Theis
Isola Art Center, Milan, I *
VIDEO.it 2009. One Bridge on the Mediterranean
curated by Francesco Poli, Francesco Bernardelli, Mario Gorni, Paola Nicita, Cristiana Perrella
Fondazione Merz (Turin); Centro Culture Contemporanee Zo – Culture Contemporary Center (Catania); Casa del Cinema – Villa Borghese (Rome); Palazzo Affari (Milan) during the VII EuroMed Forum Gala; Careof (Milan); Galerie ESCA (Nîmes, France); RAI International Prize for Documentary and Reportage in the Mediterranean *
2006
Interference! Actions for Public Gerencia, curated by Mau Monleon
Centro Cultural de la Gerencia, Sagunto (Valencia), Spain *
Builders and Livers … or not, inside Art, Life and Public Space,
Valencia, Spain
Collaborations
2019–present
Member of the team of Omuamua, independent research and study space for contemporary art, Milan.
2012
public art project by Elina Chauvet
whitin Con i tuoi occhi
curated by Francesca Guerisoli
with the collaboration of CHAN and Silvia Somaschini
under the patronage of the Municipality of Milan, for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women
project by Alessandro Nassiri Tabibzadeh
Education | Residencies | Awards | Workshops
2011
MA Degree in Visual Arts and Curatorial Studies, 108/110
NABA – Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti, Milan
2008
BA Degree in Sculpture, 110/110 cum laude
Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milan
2006
Audiovisual Media
Accademia de Bellas Artes, Valencia, Spain
2005
Sculpture
Accademia de Bellas Artes, Salamanca, Spain
2016
Residency
Lac o Le Mon Foundation / Lu Cafausu
San Cesario di Lecce
2014
Residency
Apulia Land Art Festival
curated by Francesca Guerisoli
Specchia (Lecce)
2011
Shortlisted artist
XV Biennale del Mediterraneo
Workshops 2010-2008
Asuka Ohsawa; Massimo Carasi – The Flat, Milan
Grzegorz Kowalski; Lukasz Kosela – Carrara Biennale
Francesco Jodice – Fondazione Forma
Urbonas – NABA
Park Fiction – NABA
Oliver Ressler – NABA
Dan Graham; Maria Papadimitriou; Alex Farquharson – NABA
Kris Krois – NABA
Luca Cerizza – NABA
Viktor Misiano – NABA
Jens Hoffmann – NABA
Bibliography and Press
Francesca Petrolo, Ermanno Cristini, Attimi d’arresto. Polvere, sfocature, rotolacampi, exhibition catalogue, La Centrale Edizioni, Milan, 2019.
Ermanno Cristini, Forse, La Centrale Edizioni, Milan, 2019.
Sibilla Panerai, “Valentina Maggi Summo – Eredità rivoluzionaria”, Segno, 23 June 2018.
999. Abitare un ritardo, exhibition catalogue, Triennale Milano Edizioni, Milan, 2018.
Giancarlo Norese, Ermanno Cristini (eds.), Hotello somnia et labora, exhibition catalogue, La Centrale Edizioni, Milan, 2018.
Piero Almeoni et al. (eds.), Osservatorio InOpera, Postmedia Books, Milan, 2014.
Silvia Paci, “15 artisti e un bosco: l’Apulia Land Art Festival nel cuore del Salento”, Affari Italiani, 27 August 2014.
Cecilia Pavone, “Pratiche di Land Art nel rispetto dell’ambiente…”, Artribune, 2 September 2014.
Lorenzo Madara, “Quindici artisti nel bosco: al via Apulia Land Art”, La Repubblica Bari, 2014.
Cecilia Pavone, “La Land Art in versione salentina…”, Artribune, 28 August 2014.
Marta Mentasti, “Apulia Land Art Festival…”, Wall Street International, 21 August 2014.
Federica Boragina, Giulia Brivio (eds.), Interno domestico. Mostre in appartamenti 1972–2013, Fortino Editore, Milan, 2013.
Isola Art Center (ed.), Fight Specific Isola, exhibition catalogue, Archive Books, Berlin, 2013.
“La versione ‘cortese’ di Macao?…”, Artribune, 18 May 2012.
Tiziana Casapietra, “Cartabianca#Milano”, Flash Art, no. 302, May 2012.
Viviana Conti, “Cartabianca. Una buona notizia…”, Arte e Critica, no. 71, June–August 2012.
Arianna Carcano (ed.), Da storia nasce cosa, exhibition catalogue, 2011.
“Bon Voyage, un progetto di Valentina Maggi”, Undo.net, 2010.
Francesco Bernardelli, VIDEO.IT 2009. Un ponte sul Mediterraneo, exhibition catalogue, Ferrero Editore, 2009.
Valentina Vetturi, Anna Lovecchio (eds.), Festival della bassa risoluzione, exhibition catalogue, Radice Quadrata, 2009.
Francesco Jodice, “Equilibrio, progetto di Valentina Maggi e Andrea Kunkl”, Nothing to See Here, no.1, Fondazione Forma, 2009.
Domenico Olivero (ed.), ZOOart, exhibition catalogue, 2009.
Kings, Barbara Frappi, Bert Theis (eds.), Rosta Project, graphic project, 2009.
Emanuela Genesio, interview with Michela Giuggia, “La zoofilia dell’arte”, Exibart, 2009.
“Venti artisti sparsi tra la gente nei quartieri a bassa risoluzione”, La Repubblica Bari, 11 October 2009.
Luce Manara, “Turbolenze in pubblico. Arte e incontri all’Isola”, Il Manifesto, 22 March 2009.
Giusy Caroppo, “Festival della bassa risoluzione”, Segno, no.227, November–December 2009.
Mau Monleòn, José Juan Martínez Ballester, Juan Antonio Cerezuela, Carles Javier López (eds.), Injerencias! Acciones por la Gerencia Pública, exhibition catalogue (publication + DVD), 2006.