Biography
Giuseppe La Spada is an interdisciplinary artist whose research explores the human-nature relationship, with the aim of sensitising the public to environmental issues. In particular, the water element flows throughout his entire artistic practice, becoming each time the subject or the context, at times even the medium.
Always interested in the synesthetic experiences resulting from the interplay between artistic languages, today he focuses on photography, video and installations - three-dimensional, interactive or process-based.
Art, spirituality and sustainability are woven together into his works through a relentless research on the human existence on the planet Earth. For him, Art should be functional and develop into a ‘social architecture’. For this reason, his practice also includes conferences and participatory projects geared towards the young generations, aimed at fostering a new ecological awareness.
Born in 1974 in Palermo, he grows up in Milazzo.
In 2002 he graduates with honors in Digital Design at Istituto Europeo di Design in Rome, where he remains as a professor until 2004. In 2006, he is awarded the prize for best career in Visual Arts by the same institution.
In 2007 he wins the prestigious Webby Award for the netart category, with the website Mono No Aware, an ecological web project to support the project Stop Rokkasho founded by Oscar winner Ryuichi Sakamoto.
In 2008 he works alongside Sakamoto and Fennesz on the Cendre tournèe, ending with the unforgettable final show at Ground Zero, New York.
In 2009 he worked on Afleur, an art project that later on resulted into a live show and an ecological object-book (2010). The work was also a part of the art exhibition Digitalife 2, among the works of Marina Abramovic, Christian Marclay, Carsten Nicolai, Ryoichi Kurokawa and many other eminent contemporary artist. His photo was chosen as the rappresentative picture of the event.
In 2011 he stages an impressive tree in Piazza Duomo, Milan with the participation of more than 600 people, to raise public awareness on the problem of pollution.
In 2012 he curates With All Your Senses, an event for Ca' Del Bosco where he creates an interactive multisensorial artwork well appreciated by critics and press. In the same year, alongside Ryuichi Sakamoto, he created the video Hana no ame for the project Kizuna World in order to fundraise for Japan Earthquake victims.
In 2014 his digital manipulation is exhibited in Tate Loud Collective, at Tate Britain.
In 2015 his artwork Migrants is digitally displayed at Louvre, Exposure Award, while in October of the same year the artist presents Sublimis, at Triennale, Milano. This interdisciplinary project related to Humans and Water is developed in collaboration with established international scientists and artists, as Ryuichi Sakamoto who created for the occasion the indent music composition Shizen no Koe. The same project is also presented in Seaport Museum, New York, in 2016.
In 2016 the Ecomuseo del Mare in Palermo hosts his solo exhibition, Underwater.
In 2017 Shizen no Koe, his interactive water installation, is displayed during 'Festival for the Earth' at the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco in the presence of HSH Prince Albert II.
In 2018 he takes part in Idesign show, Manifesta 12 Collateral in Palermo with Fluctus, a huge plastic installation. In the same year, his work is also featured in the exhibition Re-Use, among artists as Man Ray, Duchamp, Manzoni, Christo, Pistoletto, Penone, Tony Cragg, Damien Hirst. [etc.]
Currently, he lives and works in Milan embracing his relentless research on the human-nature relationship as both an aesthetic artistic mission and a truly ethic one, with the aim of giving a real contribution to the human society.
• Member of The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (New York)
• Contract Professor of Digital Animation at Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera (Milan) 2010 - 2019
• Contract Professor of Art Direction for Photography at Istituto Europeo di Design in Milan 2004 - present
Giuseppe La Spada is an interdisciplinary artist whose research explores the human-nature relationship, with the aim of sensitising the public to environmental issues. In particular, the water element flows throughout his entire artistic practice, becoming each time the subject or the context, at times even the medium.
Always interested in the synesthetic experiences resulting from the interplay between artistic languages, today he focuses on photography, video and installations - three-dimensional, interactive or process-based.
Art, spirituality and sustainability are woven together into his works through a relentless research on the human existence on the planet Earth. For him, Art should be functional and develop into a ‘social architecture’. For this reason, his practice also includes conferences and participatory projects geared towards the young generations, aimed at fostering a new ecological awareness.
Born in 1974 in Palermo, he grows up in Milazzo.
In 2002 he graduates with honors in Digital Design at Istituto Europeo di Design in Rome, where he remains as a professor until 2004. In 2006, he is awarded the prize for best career in Visual Arts by the same institution.
In 2007 he wins the prestigious Webby Award for the netart category, with the website Mono No Aware, an ecological web project to support the project Stop Rokkasho founded by Oscar winner Ryuichi Sakamoto.
In 2008 he works alongside Sakamoto and Fennesz on the Cendre tournèe, ending with the unforgettable final show at Ground Zero, New York.
In 2009 he worked on Afleur, an art project that later on resulted into a live show and an ecological object-book (2010). The work was also a part of the art exhibition Digitalife 2, among the works of Marina Abramovic, Christian Marclay, Carsten Nicolai, Ryoichi Kurokawa and many other eminent contemporary artist. His photo was chosen as the rappresentative picture of the event.
In 2011 he stages an impressive tree in Piazza Duomo, Milan with the participation of more than 600 people, to raise public awareness on the problem of pollution.
In 2012 he curates With All Your Senses, an event for Ca' Del Bosco where he creates an interactive multisensorial artwork well appreciated by critics and press. In the same year, alongside Ryuichi Sakamoto, he created the video Hana no ame for the project Kizuna World in order to fundraise for Japan Earthquake victims.
In 2014 his digital manipulation is exhibited in Tate Loud Collective, at Tate Britain.
In 2015 his artwork Migrants is digitally displayed at Louvre, Exposure Award, while in October of the same year the artist presents Sublimis, at Triennale, Milano. This interdisciplinary project related to Humans and Water is developed in collaboration with established international scientists and artists, as Ryuichi Sakamoto who created for the occasion the indent music composition Shizen no Koe. The same project is also presented in Seaport Museum, New York, in 2016.
In 2016 the Ecomuseo del Mare in Palermo hosts his solo exhibition, Underwater.
In 2017 Shizen no Koe, his interactive water installation, is displayed during 'Festival for the Earth' at the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco in the presence of HSH Prince Albert II.
In 2018 he takes part in Idesign show, Manifesta 12 Collateral in Palermo with Fluctus, a huge plastic installation. In the same year, his work is also featured in the exhibition Re-Use, among artists as Man Ray, Duchamp, Manzoni, Christo, Pistoletto, Penone, Tony Cragg, Damien Hirst. [etc.]
Currently, he lives and works in Milan embracing his relentless research on the human-nature relationship as both an aesthetic artistic mission and a truly ethic one, with the aim of giving a real contribution to the human society.
• Member of The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (New York)
• Contract Professor of Digital Animation at Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera (Milan) 2010 - 2019
• Contract Professor of Art Direction for Photography at Istituto Europeo di Design in Milan 2004 - present