Paolo Icaro (b.Turin, 1936 - lives and works in Tavullia, Italy) is one of the protagonists of artistic research in the 1960s, close to the Arte Povera experience, he has always experimented with the becoming of sculptural action in relation to form and space. "The space of the sculpture," said the artist, "is the same space in which my body stands; I stand in the space where the sculpture also stands. Sculpture is therefore body, body of the idea that becomes vulnerable gravity like every other body in the universe."
In 1968-'69 he took part in the most important exhibitions of the international avant-garde such as "Arte povera più azioni povere" in Amalfi. He is among the artists invited to the two historic exhibitions "Op Losse Schroeven. Situaties en cryptostructuren," at the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, and "When Attitudes Become Form," at the Kunsthalle, Bern. In 1971 he moved to Connecticut where he resided for a decade.
Since the beginning of the 1980s he held solo shows at: PAC in Milan (1982), Palazzina dei Giardini in Modena (1987), Galleria Civica d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea in Trento (1995). In 2007 he made an intervention for the Italian Department of UCLA - University of California at Los Angeles. Among his most recent solo exhibitions include: "Ideal Biography" at the Pescheria Visual Arts Center in Pesaro (2009); "Paolo Icaro, Unending Incipit" at the Pinacoteca Comunale di Città di Castello (2017); "Le Pietre del Cielo: Paolo Icaro e Luigi Ghirri" at the Fondazione Querini Stampalia in Venice (2017); and "A Meadow in Four Times" at the State University of Milan (2018).
His works can be found in some of the most important international public collections, including: Museum voor Hadengaasgse Kunst, Ghent, Belgium; Alvar Aalto Museum, Jyväskylä, Finland; Centre Pompidou, Paris, France; GAM, Turin, Italy; GNAM, Rome, Italy; Collezione dei Musei Civici, Milan, Italy; MAMBO, Bologna, Italy; MAXXI, Rome, Italy; Museo d'Arte Contemporanea di Villa Croce, Genoa, Italy; MUSMA, Matera, Italy; Accademia Nazionale di San Luca, Rome, Italy; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, USA; UCLA, Los Angeles, USA.
On March 9, 2025, from 12:00 PM to 8:00 PM, Fondazione VOLUME! presents “Trattoria ideale”, a work by Paolo Icaro, curated by Lorenzo Benedetti. An action by Paolo Icaro that transforms the spaces of VOLUME! into a place of sharing and connection. Paolo Icaro (1936) turns the spaces of VOLUME!
The Municipality of Fabriano presents to the public “Artificio Naturale” (2011), an environmental sculpture by Paolo Icaro acquired for the collection of the Pinacoteca Civica Bruno Molajoli in Fabriano. The project, curated by Marcello Smarrelli, is promoted by the Municipality of Fabriano and developed in collaboration with the Ermanno Casoli
The Accademia Nazionale di San Luca presents the exhibition Rifrazioni. 15 curators x 15 artists, conceived by Marco Tirelli, President of the Accademia, with the scientific coordination of Massimo Mininni, art historian and curator, and Barbara Reggio, in-house curator at the Accademia. Fifteen curators have identified fifteen artists who have
Meteorite, gemello has been installed – in both halves – in the gardens of Rocca Costanza and in front of the library of Villa Fastiggi as a public installation. This is the second episode of the project that questions the role of art in public space, with an exhibition and
From 13 December 2023 to 21 April 2024, Fondazione Memmo presents La Biblioteca del Mondo, the ninth edition of Conversation Piece. This annual cycle of exhibitions is curated by Marcello Smarrelli and aims to provide an overview of Italian and foreign artists who choose Rome as their place of residence,
Contemporary artists reread the work of Rocco Scotellaro Edited by Giuseppe Appella
