Adelaide Cioni: Drawing, Language, and the Body

Adelaide Cioni, born in Bologna in 1976, studied at UCLA and the Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma. Before becoming an artist in 2012, she worked for a decade as a literary translator of American authors including John Cheever, David Foster Wallace, Lydia Davis, and AM Homes. Represented by Galleria P420 in Bologna, her practice spans drawing, performance, painting, sculpture, and textiles. She has exhibited at MAMbo Bologna, Galleria Nazionale di Roma, MAR Ravenna, and Triennale di Milano. In 2023, with Italian Council support, she held the solo show 'Ab Ovo / On Patterns' at Mimosa House in London and was invited by director Stefano Collicelli Cagol to the first edition of Centro Pecci Commissione. In 2024, she opened 'Drawings for Myself' at Galleria P420. In an interview with Davide Dal Sasso, Cioni discusses her relationship with image and language, the role of approximation and the body, and the political dimension of her work. She views art as a physical encounter that produces intellectual and emotional short-circuits, distinct from language. Her interest in simplicity and the mark stems from a desire to strip the sign to its essence, creating works that invite touch and presence, as in the site-specific 'Ab ovo. Songs'.