Angelo Bellobono, (Nettuno, 1964) is a visual artist based in Rome, New York and Imlil (Morocco). Having spent two decades as a ski instructor and coach, Bellobono has lived in various mountain ranges around the world.
Angelo Bellobono: artist of the chemistry of emotion
The elements of ice and mountains are frequent metaphorical elements in his work; ice representing the planet’s archival memory, and mountains depicted as hinges and not barriers, connecting different cultures rather than dividing them. Through paintings, drawings, video and performance Bellobono investigates issues of belonging and identity, breaking through stereotypes and decontextualizing people, objects and concepts. His works explore the constant efforts humans make to seek out an identity and a place in which to belong. Having travelled extensively for many years around the world, Bellobono has seen how rapid social and geopolitical changes have affected people, forcing them to live in cultures outside of their own. Much of his work investigates individual’s efforts to maintain their identity or create a new one. A sense of dramatic irony pervades many of his works, which give form to the chemistry of emotion, exploring how biochemistry translates into human behaviour. This can be seen most strikingly in his portraits, which evoke the hidden portions of the human landscapes, evoking emotions through what is left unseen.
In 2011 he created the Atla(s)now project in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco, to develop a community platform where art and skiing are used as a means of economic and social development. The project includes an art residency program that coexists with several other economic activities aimed at supporting and integrating with the local community.
Most important exhibitions
His work has participated in various international exhibitions in various museums, such as Calcutta, New Delhi, Brussels, Cairo and in various Italian and foreign exhibitions. He participated in the XV Quadrennial of Rome and the IV and V Marrakech Biennale and exhibited in public and private spaces such as the Fondazione Volume and Wunderkammern in Rome, Envoy Gallery in New York and Changing Role in Naples. In 2002 he was among the finalists for the Lissone Prize; in 2005 he won the Celeste Prize for painting; in 2009 he won the prize in the Drawing section of the American Artslant Award; in 2011 he is a finalist for the Combat Prize; in 2012 he is among the finalists for the award of Portali dello Scompiglio. In 2015 he has been invited as speaker at the TEDxRome. His works are held in various public and private collections. In recent years, the artist has taken part in exhibtions such as: Linea Appennino 1201, at AlbumArte (Rome, 2019) and Paesaggi difficili at MARS (Milano, 2018).
