Bologna Modernissima

Artists

Flavio Favelli

Flavio Favelli was born in Florence in 1967, in 1993 he graduated at the University of Bologna with a degree in Oriental Studies, only afterwards beginning his career as an artist. He currently lives and works in Bologna (IT).

In Flavio Favelli’s practice personal background and collective history are often taken as main topics. His artworks give a new identity to objects destined to be forgotten, old furniture for example, tightly related to the imaginary of his childhood and to the bourgeois Italian interiors. They are assembled together into collages, sculptures, installations and environments, creating an appealing superimposition of meanings. The past can be seen represented in a melancholic way while the observer looks at it and think on his own present. The objects are no longer considered on the basis of their function, or as a decorative element, but they are therefore loaded with a symbolic and historical value.

His works have been exhibited in prestigious international institutions, including: Real Albergo delle Povere, Museo regionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Palermo (IT) (2025); Palazzo Collicola, Spoleto (IT) (2023); Museo di Capodimonte, Naples (2022); GAM, Turin (2022); Fondazione Adolfo Pini, Milan (2021); Il bello inverso, Ca’ Rezzonico, Venice (2019); Albergo Diurno Venezia, Milan (2017); UNIVERS, A METAPHYSIC STORE, Venice (2017); Art Basel Hong Kong – the Encounters section curated by Yuko Hasegawa (2013); MAXXI, Rome (2015, 2012, 2010); Museo del Novecento, Milan (2012); MACRO, Rome (2012, 2011); RISO – Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, Palermo (2011); American Academy in Rome (2011, 2010); Tate Modern, London (2010); MCA, Chicago (2009); Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin (2008, 2007, 2002); Palazzo Grassi, Venice (2008); Elgiz Museum of Contemporary Art, Istanbul (2008); Benaki Museum, Athens (2008); La Maison Rouge (2007); MAMBO, Bologna (2007); Musée d’Art Contemporain de Nîmes, (2007); Creative Art Center, Beijing (2006); Musèe d’Art Moderne de Saint- Etienne, Saint- Etienne (2005); Istituto Italiano di Cultura, Los Angeles (2004); Museion – Museo d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Bolzano (2003).

In 2012 the artist represented Italy at the 11th Biennale de La Habana and he has twice taken part – in 2003 and in 2013 – in the Venice Biennale. Flavio Favelliwas chosen for the residence at the Italian Cultural Institute of Istanbul and in 2014 he had a solo show in the historic complex of the Galata Rum Okulu school.

Flavio Favelli was born in Florence in 1967, in 1993 he graduated at the University of Bologna with a degree in Oriental Studies, only afterwards beginning his career as an artist. He currently lives and works in Bologna (IT).

In Flavio Favelli’s practice personal background and collective history are often taken as main topics. His artworks give a new identity to objects destined to be forgotten, old furniture for example, tightly related to the imaginary of his childhood and to the bourgeois Italian interiors. They are assembled together into collages, sculptures, installations and environments, creating an appealing superimposition of meanings. The past can be seen represented in a melancholic way while the observer looks at it and think on his own present. The objects are no longer considered on the basis of their function, or as a decorative element, but they are therefore loaded with a symbolic and historical value.

His works have been exhibited in prestigious international institutions, including: Real Albergo delle Povere, Museo regionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Palermo (IT) (2025); Palazzo Collicola, Spoleto (IT) (2023); Museo di Capodimonte, Naples (2022); GAM, Turin (2022); Fondazione Adolfo Pini, Milan (2021); Il bello inverso, Ca’ Rezzonico, Venice (2019); Albergo Diurno Venezia, Milan (2017); UNIVERS, A METAPHYSIC STORE, Venice (2017); Art Basel Hong Kong – the Encounters section curated by Yuko Hasegawa (2013); MAXXI, Rome (2015, 2012, 2010); Museo del Novecento, Milan (2012); MACRO, Rome (2012, 2011); RISO – Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, Palermo (2011); American Academy in Rome (2011, 2010); Tate Modern, London (2010); MCA, Chicago (2009); Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin (2008, 2007, 2002); Palazzo Grassi, Venice (2008); Elgiz Museum of Contemporary Art, Istanbul (2008); Benaki Museum, Athens (2008); La Maison Rouge (2007); MAMBO, Bologna (2007); Musée d’Art Contemporain de Nîmes, (2007); Creative Art Center, Beijing (2006); Musèe d’Art Moderne de Saint- Etienne, Saint- Etienne (2005); Istituto Italiano di Cultura, Los Angeles (2004); Museion – Museo d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Bolzano (2003).

In 2012 the artist represented Italy at the 11th Biennale de La Habana and he has twice taken part – in 2003 and in 2013 – in the Venice Biennale. Flavio Favelliwas chosen for the residence at the Italian Cultural Institute of Istanbul and in 2014 he had a solo show in the historic complex of the Galata Rum Okulu school.