the artist
My Apocalypse
Diego Santanelli (Naples, Italy, 1965) started his creative path at a very young age. A self-taugh artist, his career have been based on explorations of several pictorial tecniques. After working for decades as a physician, in 2008 he decided to entirely focus on his oeuvre. In April 2009, Santanelli exhibited a series of works that he called “the spatulas” at the Maninni Gallery, in Naples. Then, in May 2009, he exhibited in Paris at the Espace Pierre Cardin, where he had his official artistic debut with his “Hiddenart” series, a body of works based on the combination of collages and thermosensitive enamels.
His latest series, called "Rebirth", is the most recent stage of a creative journey that began in 2013 with the "Apocalypse" series.
Rebirth is the happy ending, the return to the light after darkness,
the arrival point that justifies every pain and every effort,
that puts things back in order by giving the right value
and complete meaning to whole journey
Santanelli's note:
"It has been a long and difficult journey of self-discovery. I have experienced continuous changes, with insecurity always at my side, in a path of introspection and catharsis, of inevitable loneliness. Tireless I left the pain behind, restarting each time even though it was not clear where to go. A journey to discover my soul, my essence, in which I often felt lost within dimensions that did not belong to me. I entered closed rooms, I passed through the darkness, I found the antidote in art and I returned to the light. And in color I met my center”.
Santanelli lived and worked in Paris for several years. He has exhibited at Espace Pierre Cardin (June 2009), Chaval de Sable (June 2009), Grand Palais (November 2010); Hippopotamus (December 2010) where he was a guest artist on the Wilson Balda Show. He has also exhibited at the Maison de Van Gogh Museum, Auvers-sur-Oise (February 2010); then at the Galeria de Medicis and at the Circle Jobart Bardot (March 2010). During the Parisian period he also exhibited in his country of origin at the Diocesan Museum of Mantua (December 2009); at the Quisisana hotel, in Capri (June 2009); at Castel dell' Ovo, in Naples (January 2010), at the Salone dei Congressi, in Portocervo (May 2010); at the Museum of the Catacombs of San Gennaro, (on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy, Naples 2010). He has also exhibited at the Santa Rita Museum, in Rome (September 2011); Grattacielo Pirelli, in Milan on the occasion of the Salone del Mobile (November, 2011); ArteFiera Bologna (January 2012); Ducal Palace of Ferrara (March 2013); Castel San Giorgio, Mantua (October, 2014); Posillipo theater, Naples (March 2015); Palazzo Ceriana-Mayneri, Turin (June 2015).
Santanelli's works have been exhibited at various other international venues around the world, such as the International Art Center of Dubai (April 2010); Sao Paulo International Art Fair (April 2011); the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem (June 2012); Modern Art Museum, Dubrovnick (September 2013); Deichtorhallen, Hamburg (November 2013); Messe Wien Exhibition & Congress Centre, Vienna (March 2014); Art Palm Beach, Palm Beach (January 2016); Art Boca Raton, Boca Raton (March 2016); Canale Diaz Art Center, Miami (April-June 2016); Context Art, Miami (December 2016); Scope Miami Art Fair (December 2016); Scope New York Art Fair, New York (March 2017); Art Miami, Miami (December 2017); Scope Miami Art Fair, Miami (December 2017), Art Palm Beach, Palm Beach (April 2018); Art Boca Raton, Boca Raton (March 2018); Scope Miami Art Fair, Miami (December 2018); Art Palm Beach, Palm Beach (April 2019); Scope MIami, Miami (December 2019); Art Palm Beach, Palm Beach (April 2020). Art Miami, Miami (December 2021); Hamptons Fine Art Fair (July 2023).
His works are part of private and institutional collections in Paris (Espace Pierre Cardin), Milan (Mario Valentino collection), Maison Van Gogh Museum (Auvers-sur-Ois, France), the Renato Zero collection (Rome), Diocesan Museum ( Mantua), Umjetnika Museum of Modern Art (Dubrovnick), and also in private collections in Dubai, Sao Paulo, Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, Vienna, Dublin, London, Jerusalem and beijing.
His work was auctioned by Pandolfini (Florence) in 2010.
It has been featured in European publications such as Flash Art, Il Roma, Il Messaggero, Corriere della Sera, Corriere del Mezzogiorno, La Repubblica, Il Mattino, Napoli Flash 24, Il SudOnline, Tiscali, The Travel News, France Soir, Miami Herald, Artpulse, Artdistrict, Florida Design and many more.
Diego Santanelli lives and works in Miami - Florida