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 Andrea Benetti, born in Bologna in 1964, is a multifaceted visual artist
whose work spans a wide range of expressive languages, including
painting, photography, drawing, installations, and video art. His
artistic production is distinguished by its original reinterpretation
of the deep connection between contemporary art and its ancestral
origins, particularly those rooted in prehistory. In 2006, he
conceived the Manifesto of Neo-Cave Art, which was officially
presented in 2009 at the 53rd Venice Biennale, at Ca' Foscari
University. In this manifesto, Benetti proposes a theoretical and
visual reflection that advocates for an artistic "rebirth,"
ideally starting anew from the earliest forms of human expression in
Prehistory, reimagined through a contemporary lens using an
innovative and original symbolic language.
His works, characterized by the evocative use of natural pigments,
spices, oxides, and stylized anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figures,
along with abstract geometries, form a conceptual bridge between the
origins of art and its present-day manifestations. This approach has
enabled him to develop a distinctive visual poetics, capable of
engaging with the collective memory of humanity while simultaneously
responding to the aesthetic and conceptual demands of
third-millennium art.
Andrea Benetti has exhibited in prestigious international venues, and his
works have become part of major institutional and museum collections,
including those of the United Nations (New York), the Vatican, the
Quirinal Palace, and the Italian Chamber of Deputies. His work has
been the subject of academic research and study by various Italian
universities, such as those of Bologna, Ferrara, Bergamo, and Salento
(Lecce), as well as through collaborations with other notable
academic institutions, including the universities of Bari, Roma Tre,
Messina, Venice, and the renowned Johns Hopkins University.
The recognition of his artistic stature is further affirmed by the
inclusion of his biography in authoritative encyclopedias such as
Treccani, De Agostini, and WikiArt, and by its presence in forty-five
languages on Wikipedia - testament to his established international
resonance. In 2020, he was awarded the “Nettuno d’Oro” Prize by
the City of Bologna, in tribute to the significance and originality
of his contribution to contemporary culture and to his standing as a
leading figure in today’s artistic landscape.
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