Michele Stanzione
Contemporary Visual Artist · Photographer
Born in Benevento, Italy, in 1981. Lives and works in Italy, with an international artistic practice.
ARTISTIC PRACTICE
Michele Stanzione is an Italian contemporary visual artist and photographer whose artistic research developed through photography, with black and white as a central element of his visual language.
His work investigates identity, memory, spirituality, transformation and the relationship between the visible and the invisible.
Moving between photography, contemporary art and cultural research, Stanzione creates works in which the photographic image becomes a space of introspection and symbolic investigation.
His practice encompasses artistic projects, exhibitions, international cultural collaborations and Portraits of Art, an ongoing photographic archive dedicated to contemporary art and its protagonists.
AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS
2018
Gold Medal
VII International Photography Biennale of Jinan — The Silk Road in the Eyes of Photographers of the World, Jinan City Art Museum, China.
2018
Canova Prize – International Contemporary Art Award
New York, USA.
Selected work: So far, so close.
2017
Premio alle Eccellenze – Napoli Cultural Classic
Photographer of the Year.
2016
Mo-tse Photography Master Award
VI International Photography Biennale of Jinan, China.
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2024
ANIME
Castel Nuovo – Maschio Angioino, Naples, Italy
3 June – 1 July 2024
Curator: Massimo Scaringella
A major photographic exhibition presenting more than seventy black-and-white photographs exploring the relationship between human beings, nature and the inner dimension of the soul.
2023
GEOART
Museo del Sannio, Benevento, Italy
Photographic project created in connection with the UNESCO Global Geopark candidacy of the Taburno-Camposauro Regional Park.
2018
VELATA
Bibliothè Contemporary Art Gallery, Rome, Italy
Velata – Un’opera unica di Michele Stanzione
Part of the UNUM exhibition programme.
Curator: Francesco Gallo Mazzeo.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS & INTERNATIONAL PARTICIPATIONS
2026
61st INTERNATIONAL ART EXHIBITION – LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA
The Forest – The Undergrowth
Equatorial Guinea Pavilion
Palazzo Donà dalle Rose, Venice, Italy
Artist: Michele Stanzione
Project: Bosco Sacro
Curator: Joan Abelló
Commissioner: Paulo Speller
Michele Stanzione participates in the 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia with Bosco Sacro, presented within the Equatorial Guinea Pavilion.
2025
FIRST INTERNATIONAL BIENNALE OF CONTEMPORARY ART OF DURRËS
Durrës, Albania
Representing Italy
Michele Stanzione represented Italy at the First International Biennale of Contemporary Art of Durrës.
2025
LA SPIRITUALITÀ DELLO SGUARDO
Palazzo Samone, Cuneo, Italy
Group exhibition exploring spirituality through contemporary artistic practices.
2024
GEOGRAFIE DELLO SGUARDO – VISIONI NOLANE
Museo Possibile, Nola, Italy
Group exhibition.
2022
DIVERSITY
Florence, Italy
Curated by Mauro Pratesi.
2019
THE INTERNATIONAL FAMOUS ARTIST AND CHILDREN’S ART – DREAM CUP WORKS EXHIBITION
Beijing, China
International exhibition.
2015
STEMPERANDO – INTERNATIONAL BIENNIAL OF WORKS ON PAPER
Turin · Rome · Tirana
Curated by Anselmo Villata.
2007
95th ANNIVERSARY OF ALBANIAN INDEPENDENCE
Embassy of Albania, Rome, Italy
Collective exhibition.
INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL ACTIVITIES
CHINA – ITALY CULTURAL EXCHANGE
Ambassador for Cultural Exchanges between China and Italy
Stanzione’s international activity includes cultural exchange projects between Italy and China, developed through exhibitions, photographic projects and institutional collaborations.
GUANGDONG THROUGH THE LENSES OF EUROPEAN PHOTOGRAPHERS
2015
A photographic project developed in China in connection with China Pictorial and Expo Milano 2015.
The resulting work was subsequently published in the photographic book Guangdong.
DODO ART MUSEUM — BEIJING
Member of the Scientific Committee
DODO ART MUSEUM, Beijing, China.
Directed by artist Liu Ruowang.
UNIVERSITY OF ART & DESIGN OF SHANDONG
Visiting Professor
Jinan, Shandong, China.
Appointed 25 October 2018.
ARTISTIC & CULTURAL DIRECTION
MILLEVOLTI
President
Cultural association dedicated to international artistic and cultural exchange.
ALBANIAN KEY
2024 · Artistic Director
Monumental contemporary art project by Milot.
KEY OF MONTEVERGINE
2020 · Artistic Director
Monumental contemporary art project by Milot.
LUPI AD AVELLA
2021 · Artistic Director
Exhibition/project by Chinese artist Liu Ruowang.
PORTRAITS OF ART
A PHOTOGRAPHIC ARCHIVE OF CONTEMPORARY ART
Michele Stanzione has developed an extensive photographic archive dedicated to contemporary art and its protagonists, portraying internationally recognised artists, curators, critics, gallery owners and cultural figures.
His ongoing Portraits of Art project documents the faces of contemporary art through a personal black-and-white photographic language, transforming portraiture into a form of artistic and cultural memory.
Among the artists and cultural figures portrayed are Michelangelo Pistoletto, Maurizio Cattelan, Achille Bonito Oliva, Enzo Cucchi, Pier Paolo Calzolari, Franco Fontana, Nino Migliori, Mimmo Jodice, Marco Tirelli, Omar Galliani, Nicola Samorì, Gian Maria Tosatti, Ugo La Pietra, Giuseppe Maraniello, Milot, Helidon Xhixha, Paolo Icaro, Francesco Arena, Stefano Arienti and many others.
SELECTED PRESS & PUBLICATIONS
Michele Stanzione’s work has been featured in Italian and international newspapers, art magazines, exhibition catalogues and cultural publications.
Selected publications and coverage include:
La Repubblica
Jinan International Photography Biennale, 2016.
Artribune
Anime, Castel Nuovo – Maschio Angioino, Naples, 2024.
Exibart
Anime, Naples, 2024.
ArtsLife
First International Biennale of Durrës.
La Biennale di Venezia
Equatorial Guinea Pavilion, 61st International Art Exhibition, 2026.
Alla fine:
CURRENT ARTISTIC RESEARCH
BOSCO SACRO
An ongoing photographic investigation into memory, spirituality, nature and the invisible.
Presented at the 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia 2026 within The Forest – The Undergrowth, Equatorial Guinea Pavilion.
PORTRAITS OF ART
An ongoing photographic archive dedicated to contemporary art and its protagonists.
THE INVISIBLE BECOMES VISIBLE
Stanzione’s artistic research continues to investigate the space between what is seen and what remains hidden, transforming photography into a language of memory, emotion and symbolic experience.