Giovanni Ozzola (b. 1982, Florence, Italy) lives and works in the Canary Islands. After spending some years in London, Ozzola went back to Italy in 2001, where he began to build his artistic career. This led him, in 2001, to participate in the exhibition Happiness: a survival guide for art and life, curated by David Elliott and Pier Luigi Tazzi, at Mori Art Museum of Tokyo.

Fog or sunlight streaming through colourful curtains is just one of the light effects at the core of Ozzola’s oeuvre. Working mostly in photography and, more recently, video, Ozzola produces picturesque images that oscillate between the immediacy of capturing the ephemeral and the carefully constructed artifice traditionally associated with painting. In his three-dimensional practice, Ozzola looks at some of these same properties by using a variety of materials: neon lights to illuminate found objects from within, marble installations as backdrops for video projects, or slate slabs as surfaces for etching.

His works are currently included in public collections across the world, including Palais de Tokyo, Paris; Louis Vuitton Fondation, Paris; Institut Culturel Bernard Magrez, Bordeaux; Museum Franz Gertsch, Burgdorf, Switzerland; Museo Pecci, Prato; VAF Foundation, Frankfurt am Main.

Selected Solo Exhibitions

Traces of wind, Galleria Continua, Beijing, China (2022); I didn’t see you, 166 Art Space, Shanghai, China, (2022); Atto Unico / Single Act, Galleria Continua, San Gimignano, Italy (2021); Bunkers y Estrellas, XVI Bienal Internacional de Fotografia, Museo de Bellas Artes de Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Tenerife, Spain (2021), Añaza, La Camara Espacio Fotografico, San Cristobal de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain (2021); No one could save but me, 313 Art Project, Seoul, South Korea (2021); La prima Radice – Una Boccata d’Arte, Fondazione Elpis and Galleria Continua, San Pantaleo, Italy (2020); Sin Tiempo, Galleria Continua, Les Moulins, France (2020); Through a Day, Sky Arte Artissima Galleria Cracco, Milan, Italy (2020); Algo Tuyo y Mío, Centro Foundacion Unicaja de Almeria, Almeria, Spain (2019); If I Had to Explain, You Wouldn’t Understand, Fosun Foundation, Shanghai, China (2019); 1982, Gazelli Art House, London, United Kingdom (2019); Octillion, Galleria Continua, San Gimignano, Italy (2019), Rutas de Sangre, Basilica Menor, Havana, Cuba (2018); Algo Tuyo y Mio, Sala Unicaja de Exposiciones Siglo, Malaga, Spain (2018); Mi Verdad, Con Su Tiempo y Espacio – Algo Tuyo y Mío, Museo Unicaja Joaquin Peinado, Ronda, Spain, (2018); Vanitas, Rotary Waregem, Waregem, Belgium (2018); Fallen Blossom- Whispering, Galleria Continua, Beijing, China (2017); Mirage, Suburbua-Contemporary Culture, Granada, Spain (2017); Wrecks and Rooms with Stars (Relitti e Camere Con Stelle); Untitled Association Berlin (2017); Sistemi Di Realta’, SMS, Pisa, Italy (2016); Adrift, District Six Museum Homecoming Centre, Cape Town, South Africa (2016); Soul and Metal, 313 Art Project, Seoul, South Korea (2015); Flash art Event, Palazzo Del Ghiaccio, Milan (2013); Naufragio, Centro Arti Visive Pescheria, Pesaro, Italy (2011).

Selected Group Exhibitions

Imaging Nature Before and After, Shanghai Centre of Photography, Shanghai, China (2022); De Rerum Natura, Nay Officer’s Club,  Venice, Italy (2022); Reincantare il mondo, Sinagogue, Florence, Italy (2022); Giovanni Ozzola Invites Kiki Smith, Galleria Continua, San Gimignano, Italy (2021); Maintenant Ou Jamais!, Marais old central telephone exchange, Paris, France (2021); Habitat, Habitat Art Space, Shanghai, China (2021); Video Art, Art Dubai, UEA (2021); Art during Covid, Museo De Arte Contemporaneo De Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil (2021); Marítima Project, Museum Es Baluard, Palma De Mallorca, Spain (2021); Follia Continua, Galleria Continua, Beijing, China (2020);  A Collection, Palazzo Barolo, Torino, Italy (2020); Perno 2, Castello di Perno, Cuneo, Italy, (2020); Camouflaged Pearls #2, Bruthaus, Waregem, Belgium (2020); La Potenza dell’arte Contemporanea, Potenza, Italy (2019-2020); Contempoanee/Contemporanei, Agi Collection, Verona, Italy (2019-2020); Kronos E Kairos, Archaeological Park of Colosseum, Rome, Italy (2019);  Do Ut Again, Archaeological Park of Pompeii, Pompeii, Italy (2019); Medio Acqua, Base Sous-Marine, Bordeaux, France (2018); Photofairs Shanghai: Insights, Shanghai Exhibition Centre, Shanghai, China (2018); Sculpture Project Pingyao, Pingyao Diesel Engine Site, Pingyao, China (2018); Monte Bianco, Skyway, Courmayer, Italy (2018); Recto Verso, Foundation Louis Vuitton, Paris, France (2018); Il Richiamo Di Cthulhu, Palazzo Mazzarino, Manifesta 12, Palermo, Italy (2018); Wundermore, MAXXI, Rome, Italy, (2018); L’Armonia Del Bianco, Les Maison de Judith, Courmayeur, Italy (2016); LANDSEASKY: revisiting spatiality in video art, Guangdong Museum of Art, China (2015); ADAM Project, Site Specific, Scicli, Italy (2015); TU35, Centro per l’Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Prato, Italy (2015); Scenario di Terra, Mart – Museo di Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto, Italy (2015); Prospettive Italiane – Percorsi, Visioni, Orizzonti, Palazzo Borghese, Rome (2012).

Awards and Residencies

Nirox Sculpture Park, Johannesburg, South Africa (2015); Premio Cairo, Milan (2011); Talent Prize, Rome (2010); Premio Terna Gigawatt Category, Rome (2008); Seat Pagine Gialle, Italy (2007).

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