Agnese Purgatorio is an artist who works primarily in photography

Agnese Purgatorio is an artist who works primarily in photography, video installations and
performances. Born in Bari, Italia, she lives between Belgrade and Beirut. She draws her inspiration
from a melting pot of cultures and with her artistic work she invents her own space, a poetic space, a
mix of reality and imagination. An hybrid floating reality that invites the viewer to interrogate personal
narratives and collective memory.
Graduated in Foreign Languages and Literatures, she holds an M.A. in Art Therapy. Her training as an
artist began with a period of study in São Paulo, Brazil, at the Lasar Segall Museum and at the SESC
Pompéia Factory (drawing techniques, printmaking and photography). Since 1990 she has exhibited
her works both in Italy and abroad, in solo and group exhibitions [Galleria Bonomo (Bari), Gallery
Onetwentyeight (New York), Mars Gallery (Melbourne), Podbielski Contemporay (Berlin), the Venice
and the Moscow Biennale], and she has been awarded with important international awards. Her works
have been included in many private and public art collections.
Selected International Exhibitions, Awards and Events
2016
- Desenho [...] Cidade Moderna, III SEMINÁRIO INTERNACIONAL ARQUITECTURAS-IMAGINADAS…E OUTRAS-IMAGENS,
Auditorio do IAB, Rio de Janeiro, (catalogo/catalogue)
- Utopia, ANNIVERSARY EXHIBITION 2011-2016 , Podbielski Contemporary, Berlin
- Rimani mi dicesti ed io restai, solo exhibition, Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Strasburgo, Lunéville
2015
- Learning by heart, solo exhibition, Podbielski Contemporary, Berlin (catalogue)
- MIA FAIR, solo exhibition, Milano (catalogue)
- Breaking News II, Podbielski Contemporary, Berlin
- Horcynus Festival 2015, Terme di San Calogero, Lipari
- Gli orti del paradiso, Il Filatoio, Caraglio (CN) (catalogue)
- Collezione Farnesina, Museum of Contemporary Art Zagreb (catalogue)
2014
- Rimani mi dicesti ed io restai, solo exhibition, curated by Martina Corgnati, Italian Institute of Culture,
Tirana, Zagreb, Köln, Strasbourg
- Venti per una, curated by Martina Corgnati, Italian Institute of Culture, Zagreb, Bratislava.
2013
- Twenty for one, Special Project, 5 Moscow Biennale of Contemporary art, Zurab Tsereteli Art Gallery,
(catalogue), Rizzordi Art Foundation, St. Petersboug
- Il corpo solitario, Palazzo della Penna, Perugia, curated by Giorgio Bonomi e Alessandra Migliorati
(catalogue)
- 20 x 1, Centro Culturale Recoleta - Buenos Aires; Spazio Culturale Museo delle donne – Córdoba; Espacio de
Arte Contemporáneo – Montevideo; Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, La Plata; curated by Martina Corgnati
(IGAV Torino - catalogue)
2012
- Confini, International Mediterranean Art Festival, Horcynus Orca Foundation, Reggio Calabria
- J'ai utilisé la mémoire, performance, Armenia-Turkey border
- Remote sensing, Armenian Center for Contemporary Experimental Art, Yerevan
- Venti per una, IGAV, Istituto Garuzzo per le Arti Visive, curated by Martina Corgnati, Castiglia di Saluzzo (CN)
2011
- Waves... The Tides of Time, Gallery Onetwentyeight, New York
- Dalla cella all’atelier, permanent art collection IGAV curated by Alessandro Demma, Castiglia di Saluzzo (CN)
- Sulla linea verde, performance, Horcynus Orca Fondation, International Art Festival, Messina
2010
- Perhaps you can write to me, presentation of the book, video-performance, Castello Svevo, Bari
- Era un giorno di neve, video-installation, Museum of Contemporary Art, Skopje
- Manifesta 8, the European Biennial of Contemporary Art, presentation curated by Martina Corgnati, Murcia
- Contemporary Artists between Italy and Turkey, video-installation Torino- Istanbul-Teheran, Yapi Kredi
gallery, Ministry of Italian Foreign Affairs celebrate Istanbul European Capital of Culture (catalogue)
2009
- Dalla clandestinità,, performance and video-installation, solo exhibition Mars gallery, Melbourne
- Fronte dell’est, performance, Istituto Italiano di Cultura, Melbourne
- Perhaps you can write to me, performance and video installation, Horcynus Orca Foundation, International
Art Festival, Messina
2008
- International Experimental Film Festival, Museum Florean, Carbunari
- Le porte del Mediterraneo, (curated by Martina Corgnati), Palazzo Piozzo, Rivoli (TO) (catalogue)
- L’arca, Galleria Bonomo, Bari, (catalogue). performance, Istituto Italiano di Cultura, Melbourne
2007
- Bienal B, International Art Festival, Porto Alegre, R.S. - S/ago/me
- Fronte dell’est, solo exhibition, Galleria Bonomo Bari, (catalogue: critique Martina Corgnati)
- Funny women, a mixed media exhibition, Gallery 128, New York.
2006
- Stanza dei Portatori d’acqua, (art room, project realized with Antonio Presti) Art Hotel, Atelier sul mare,
inaugurated by Danielle Mitterrand, Castel di Tusa – ME
- Telepass, Museo civico Castello dei Ventimiglia, solo exhibition, Castelbuono – PA
2005
- bac!05 – 6 International Festival of Contemporary Art in Barcelona, Spain, video-installation, (catalogue)
- Premio Milano e Torino Incontrano… l’Arte, Palazzo Affari ai Giureconsulti, Milano
- S/ago/me 547, traforo via Nazionale, installation, collective event, Roma (catalogue)
2004
- Self-ish, curated by Kazuko Miyamoto, Gallery Onetwentyeight, New York.
- 500 Spot per Librino, Fiumara d’Arte, curated by di Antonio Presti, collective event, Catania – Roma
- Superheroine, 23 International Artists, Gallery 128, New York (catalogue).
2003
- Maternità dell’opera, solo exhibition, Galleria Bonomo Bari, (catalogue: critique Teresa Macrì)
- 43Premio Suzzara, “Anima e corpo fra tradizione e cibernetica” curated by Martina Corgnati, Nicola Marras,
Enrico Mascelloni, Suzzara (Mantova) (catalogue).
2002
- Extraordinario, art room Il centro molle, installation and performance, Casa Museo STESICOREA, curated by
Teresa Macrì, Catania
- Arte Maggio (curated by Linda Blumberg - American Accademy in Rome and Marilena Bonomo), Sala Murat,
Bari (catalogue)
- Artisti per l’EPICENTRO - Museo delle mattonelle d’arte, Gala di Barcellona – ME
2001
- Mille e una Biennale, in conjunction with 49th International Art Exhibition, Venice Biennale, Bevilacqua La
Masa Fondation (curated by Teresa Macrì).
- Border Stories, IX International Torino Biennale of photography (curated by Denis Curti), Palazzo
Bricherasio, Torino (catalogue)
- Biennale delle Arti e delle Scienze del Mediterraneo (curated by Giovanna Dalla Chiesa), Convento di San
Francesco, Giffoni Valle Piana - SA (catalogue)
2000
- Non Racconti, solo exhibition, critique Denis Curti, Aroma Photogalerie, Berlin
- Art Woman, Castello Carlo V, Lecce (catalogue)
1999
- ESPERIMENTA, IEdition, Trullo Sovrano, Alberobello - BA (catalogue)
- Lo sguardo pluricentrico, curated by Mario Cresci, Rencontres Internationales d’Arles
- Non Racconti, solo exhibition, Kismet Opera Opificio per le Arti, Bari San Marino
1998
- Romeo Martinez International Award, San Marino (catalogue)
- Il demone ambiguo, curated by Roberto Mutti, Fondazione Italiana per la Fotografia, Torino
- Stati Estensi 199A project curated by Roberto Margini, solo exhibition, Casalgrande - RE, (artistc book by
Agnese Purgatorio, critique Massimo Mussini)
- ART&MAGGIO Prima rassegna d’arte contemporanea, curated by Marilena Bonomo, Bari (catalogue)
1997
- The European Face, Weesper Synagoge, Weesp (Amsterdam); Galerie FotoForum, Bolzano; Jewish Culture
Centre, Krakow, Poland; PS Gallery, Poznan; Estonian National Library,Tallin. (catalogue)
- Tribus, solo exhibition, Artoteca Alliance Ass.Cult. Italo Francese, Bari
1996
- Tribus, solo exhibition, Exposition France-Italie, Le Génie de la Bastille, Paris.
- The European Face, The Copenhagen 96 Ferry - M/F Kronborg, Copenhagen; Danish Cultural Institute,
Hannover; Galeria Foyer, Gdansk; Fotoforum West, Innsbruck, (catalogue)
1995
- She represents Italy in the project The European Face, Talbot Rice Gallery - University of Edimburgh and The
European Union Cultural Forum, Edimburgh, (catalogue).
- Comme dans un miroir, Le portrait dans la collection du Musée, exposition itinérante (curated by C. H.
Favrod), Musée de L’Elysée, Lausanne
- Fronte dell’est, Galleria Bonomo, Bari, solo exhibition (catalogue: critique Martina Corgnati)
- Funny women, a mixed media exhibition, Gallery 128, New York.
1994
- European Panorama Kodak Award, international selection Paris, winners’ exhibition: Eglise des Jésuites,
Rencontres Internationales d’Arles, (catalogue)
- Dialogue, solo exhibition, Accademia di Belle Arti di Bologna (catalogue)
1993
- 5 International Torino Biennale of photography, Photosalon, Torino.
- Dialogue, Artoteca Alliance Ass.Cult. Italo Francese, solo exhibition, Bari (catalogue)
1990
- Rotte mediterranee - Biennale d’Arte Mediterranea Giovani, Tipasa, Algérie, (catalogue)
- Fata Morgana, a room for arts, solo exhibition, Fortino Sant’Antonio, Bari