Pietro Rivasi on 1990s Street Art, Writing, and the Politics of Public Space
Pietro Rivasi, who hails from Correggio and was born in 1978, has been residing in Modena. He started his journey in graffiti during the early 1990s. In 2002, he played a key role in establishing the Icone festival and has operated as an independent curator since 2008. His work centers on documenting street art as a legitimate form, advocating for the acknowledgment of original illegal pieces. While he points to Banksy and Blu as examples of protected street art, he criticizes the removal of murals for tourism purposes. Rivasi partners with galleries to showcase unauthorized public art, stressing its performative and political aspects. Notable projects include the video "No Comment" (2017) and the "Padiglione in movimento" at the Venice Biennale. He has a monograph on Biancoshock scheduled for late November and an exhibition featuring Pablo Allison & Collettivo FX on 10 November in Reggio Emilia.
Key facts
- Pietro Rivasi was born in Correggio in 1978 and lives in Modena.
- He started making graffiti in the early 1990s.
- He co-founded the festival Icone in 2002.
- Since 2008, he has worked as an independent curator.
- His research focuses on using documentation of street practice as artwork in galleries.
- He cites Banksy and Blu as rare examples of street works being protected with plexiglass.
- He criticizes the removal of murals for tourism as decontextualizing and exploitative.
- He works with artists to bring photographs, videos, and preparatory documents of unauthorized works into galleries.
- His first graffiti piece was a Nietzsche quote in an oratory.
- He distinguishes street art as unauthorized signs in public space and writing as a more radical form.
- He considers writing and street art as politically performative acts challenging public space and property.
- He highlights the video 'No Comment' by Utah and Ether (2017) and the 'Padiglione in movimento' project at the Venice Biennale.
- He criticizes opportunistic curators and the 'muralist' trend for serving urban decorum propaganda.
- Influential artists include Honet, Stak, Moses & Taps, Collettivo FX, Rage, Zelle Asphaltkultur, Boris, and The Grifters.
- Upcoming projects: monograph on Biancoshock (late November), exhibition by Pablo Allison & Collettivo FX (10 November, Reggio Emilia), Unlock publishing fair (Modena, 2020).
Entities
Artists
- Pietro Rivasi
- Jens Besser
- Robert Kaltenhauser
- Francesco Barbieri
- Andrea Baldini
- Collettivo FX
- Banksy
- Blu
- Honet
- Oliver Kosta Thefaine
- Mastro K
- Dohne
- Kay One
- Saeio
- KR
- Zelle Asphaltkultur
- Moses
- Taps
- Utah
- Ether
- Shlomo Faber
- Fino
- Nexr
- Biancoshock
- Pablo Allison
- Twist
- Barry McGee
- Revs
- Cost
- Rage
- Boris
- The Grifters
- Stak
- Alessia Tommasini
Institutions
- Icone
- Radio Antenna 1 Rock Station
- Isola Posse All Stars
- Speaker Deemo
- LHP
- Foot Locker
- stradanove.net
- Emilia Romagna
- Caffè Concerto
- Biennale di Venezia
- Vicolo Folletto
- Unlock
- Artribune
Locations
- Correggio
- Modena
- Italy
- Bologna
- Eindhoven
- Venice
- Santa Lucia
- Reggio Emilia