Luca Sivelli of Moio&Sivelli dies at 52; Luigi Moio remembers their partnership

Luca Sivelli, half of the Italian artist duo Moio&Sivelli, died on 15 May 2026 at age 52. His longtime collaborator Luigi Moio shared an intimate remembrance of their lifelong friendship and artistic partnership. The two met as children in Amalfi, later studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Napoli, and moved to London in 1997 after an Erasmus in Granada. Their work—spanning video, performance, photography, and installation—often involved provocative, erotic, and destabilizing situations, as in "Naked Lunch" (2010) at Museo Madre, curated by Adriana Rispoli and Eugenio Viola, now in the museum's permanent collection. Other notable works include "Cappella Privata," censored and moved from Palazzo Reale in Milan to Siracusa for the show "Vade Retro: Arte e Omosessualità" curated by Vittorio Sgarbi. After the duo's artistic separation, Sivelli focused on landscape and ecosystems, presenting "Nice People Nice Party" at BoCs Art Museum in Cosenza. Sivelli taught at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Napoli and later at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Catanzaro, while Moio teaches at the Accademia Albertina delle Belle Arti di Torino. Moio described their bond as "a monster with two heads" and said he cared for Sivelli in his final months, telling him "you don't have to be afraid."