Palazzo Monzoni

Location CENTRO

Painting, sculpture, music

Born on November 27, 1992, in Pietrasanta and raised in Carrara, Gianmaria Brizzi graduated with top honors from the Academy of Fine Arts in Carrara. He received a scholarship to attend a specialized course in Semiotics in Bologna, which he pursued for one year before discontinuing due to differences in interest and intellectual honesty.

During his academic years, he regularly participated in exhibitions organized at the Galleria del Duomo and the Blue Corner Gallery, both significant venues within the local art scene. He also collaborated in workshops for the creation of two artworks by Stefano Arienti and Andrea Aquilanti, under the direction of then-director Lucilla Meloni; these works were temporarily installed inside the Academy and at the former San Giacomo sanatorium.

In 2016, he took part in a Land Art exhibition organized by the Düsseldorf Academy and the avant-garde artist Piero Mochi from Livorno. That same year, he joined the collective Piano Terra, which was based in an old Enel building in Massa. Coordinated by Gianni Dessì, Guido Zaccagnini, Marco Pistolesi, and Angelo Turetta, the collective launched its activities with a staging of Variation Three by John Cage in Piazza Aranci, in front of the Prefecture. The project continued until its closure in 2018, the same year Gianmaria participated with three colleagues in Forme nel Verde at the Orti Leonini in San Quirico d'Orcia, curated by Gaia Pasi.

During these years, he also took part in several local happenings with the DMT collective, active in the Massa Carrara province. After the closure of Piano Terra, he moved to Bologna to resume his studies in Semiotics.

In the summer of 2020, he created an installation for the temporary gallery “Asilo degli Aduti” in Piazza Alberica, his hometown, which hosted a solo exhibition alongside works by other artists until November of the same year. In September 2021, he participated in the Land Art exhibition Arte Porto, curated by Sandro Polo and Silvia Calvarese, held within the archaeological excavation of the Trajan Ports in Fiumicino, with the installation Finis Terrae.

In April 2022, he held a solo exhibition at the Polo delle Arti di San Martino in Carrara, curated by Emma Castè, accompanied by daily musical performances featuring classical and electric guitar played by himself.

Since February 2024, he has been involved in the private house-museum project “Palazzo Monzoni” in Carrara, where he takes part as a curator and sometimes as an exhibitor in cultural events linked to UNESCO. In September of last year, he was selected for the Toni Gross symposium in Val di Fassa, dedicated to the Ladin community.

Gianmaria Brizzi’s work spans multidisciplinary fields, blending intellectual philosophy, primal ancestral expression, and playful childlike spontaneity. His art seeks to build a bridge between noumenal and empirical realities, renewing a language that expresses human sensitivity through a dialogue connecting vastly different artistic references — from Rauschenberg to Pontormo, from Phidias to Twombly, from sky to earth — all delivered with a strong dose of irony.

A portfolio of his most recent works is available on Instagram, where he uses the profile @asilodegliadulti as a photographic book.

Staff:

Gianmaria Brizzi