Marco Vitale: The Artist Who Speaks About Artists' Problems

Marco Vitale (born 1992 in Brindisi) is an Italian artist whose practice is characterized by ephemeral, languid, and provisional works that often involve performance, unstable environments, and audience participation. His work explores language glitches, pop culture rituals, and the nature of desire. A key unrealized project, 'This less is lecture,' was published as a written conversation with Giorgiomaria Cornelio on Kabul Magazine. In the performance 'The desert we sang so long' (2021), created with Marco Musarò, two performers kiss for an hour for 6 euros per hour while a hidden choir sings Nico's 'Janitor of Lunacy,' addressing power dynamics and wage labor. Another work, 'Cries the man in the blue garden,' reinterprets the Scrovegni Chapel by placing its starry vault on the floor as sand, referencing Aby Warburg's ritual and Hopi sand paintings. Vitale lives in Southern Italy, holds multiple jobs, and insists on research without economic return, echoing Giuseppe Chiari's 'Art is over, let's all stop.' He cites influences from Klein, Calle, Sehgal, and local imagery like the Otranto Cathedral mosaic and the Monte d'Accoddi ziggurat. The interview was conducted by Saverio Verini and published in Artribune Magazine #67.