Davide Cantoni’s artistic practice has over the years has focused on the way our society presents images and how they are consumed, Cantoni’s particular interest is in relation to news imagery published in the New York Times (DC has lived and worked in NYC for the last 20 years).
Using photography as a basis for both the burned drawings and interference paintings, the artist creates works that while mimicking photography in their form, are also firmly rooted in the traditions of fine art. Drawings are made by sensitizing paper with pencil, and then exposing it to sun light through a lens, and the paintings reveal themselves as both positive and negative images depending on where they are viewed from as a byproduct of the reflective qualities of the paints used.
Cantoni has also worked in video and sculpture and has made a large drawing installation “111 Years” which comprises a total of 111 burned drawings mapping every war taking place on the planet year by year from 1900 to 2010.
In his most recent works Cantoni is recreating parts of printed news images as paintings using what is normally considered the digital color system RGB (Red, Green, Blue) making a foray into the inevitable shift of information form the analogue world into the digital.
Born in Italy, Cantoni completed his BA Fine Art at the Slade school in London where he was awarded a Boise travel scholarship in 1988 for an exchange year at the Hochschule Der Kunst in Berlin. Attended the Royal College of Art and received an MA (RCA) in Painting in 1993. His work has been shown extensively in Europe and the USA as well as South Korea, and is included in many public and private collections, MOMA and OSRAM collections amongst others.
Royal College of Art, London (MA)
Slade School, U.C.L. London (BA)
Exchange, H.D.K. Berlin
Of Men and Giants : The dreams of History of Elisabetta Farnese
Davide Cantoni’s Burned Drawings in Dialogue with the Farnese Collection Curated By Memmo Grilli
Museo Archeologico Nazionale Napoli
Blindarte Contemporanea, Milano, Italy
H Gallery, Paris, France
“Les Etrangers” Blindarte Contemporanea, Napoli, Italy
Blindarte Contemporanea, Napoli, Italy
Blindarte Contemporanea, Napoli, Italy
Daneyal Mahmood Gallery, New York
Osram Galerie, curated by Dr. Christian Schoen
Munich, Germany (Catalogue)
Blindarte Contemporanea, Napoli, Italy
Galleria Guido Carbone, Turin, Italy (Catalogue)
Dina4Projekte, Munich, Germany
Galleria Oddi Baglioni, Rome, Italy
Galleria Guido Carbone, Turin, Italy
Grossetti Arte Contemporanea, Milan, Italy
Grossetti Arte Contemporanea, Milan, Italy
GAGA, New York City
Galleria Milleventi, Turin, Italy
Galleria Guido Carbone, Turin, Italy
2019
“Intriguing Uncertainties” Parkview Museum Beijing curated By Lòrànd Hegyi.
2018
“?War is over ARTE E CONFLITTI tra mito e contemporaneità“
MAR-Museo d’Arte della città di Ravenna curated by Angela Tecce e Maurizio Tarantino.
“Intriguing Uncertainties” Parkview Museum Singapore curated By Lòrànd Hegyi.
2017
“The Artist’s Voice” curated by Lòrànd Hegyi, Parkview Museum, Singapore
“The Roaming Eye” curated by Katleen Kucka and Jennifer Riley, The Shirley Fiterman Art Center, NY
“Seaman’s House” Curated by Helen Allen, Chelsea NY
“Natura Plastica” a cura di Memmo Grilli, Blindarte Contemporanea, Milano
Cathouse FUNeral “Leaving Home” Cathouse Funeral Migrates North, Beacon NY
2016
Cathouse FUNeral Harvested: The Hunt Intensifies at Coustof Waxman Annex NY NY
“post-fact” Curated by Micheal Wilson
Zelda Annex Brooklyn NY
2015
“I am a Lie and I am Gold” curated by Marco Breuer
Yossi Milo gallery NY
“PHLOGISTON” International multimedia exhibition
Curated by Kóan Jeff Baysa & Branko Franceschi
Galerija umjetnina / Museum of Fine Arts
Split, Croatia
“Self” Curated by F.Fossati & M.Pellegrin
National Academy Museum NY USA
The Human Condition curated by Diana Jensen
Wesbeth gallery NY USA
Jeunes créateurs à New York Curated by Lòrànd Hegyi
Musée d’Art Moderne de Saint-Étienne Métropole, France
Le Ragioni della Pittura. Esiti e Prospettive di un Medium
Curated by Laura Cherubini & Eugenio Viola,
Fondazione Malvina Menegaz Castelbasso, Italy
Works on Paper Davidson Contemporary NY
Fire Works Hunterdon Art Museum NJ
Burning Desire Micheal Mazzeo Gallery NY
Fire Works Hunterdon Art Museum NJ
Where There’s Smoke Hampden Gallery, University of Massachusetts Amherst.MA
FRAGILE Terres d’Empathie Curated by Lòrànd Hegyi (catalogue)
Daejeon Museum of Art. South Korea
Facebook Patrick Heide Contemporary London UK
Drawings McKenzie Fine Art, New York
Paradies Neue Blicke auf einen alten Traum curated by Alexander Heisig
Diozesanmuseum Freising Germany (Catalogue)
FRAGILE – Terres d’Empathie curated by Lòrànd Hegyi
Musée d’Art Moderne de Saint-Étienne Métropole, France
FaceBook between Empathy and Abstracion
The Drawing Lab, Berlin/Munich/Dresden, Germany
Italian Works on Paper curated by Filippo Fossati & Maurizio Pellegrin
Macy Art Gallery Columbia University
I Can Watch My Thoughts Evolving
The Drawing Lab, Berlin, Germany
Poznan Biennale – Voyage Sentimental curated by Lorand Hegyi
Poznan, Poland
Papier Raum
Galerie Thomas, Munich, Germany
Gangbusters
Plane Space NYC
Questo mondo e’ fantastico – Vent’anni con Guido Carbone
Sale Storiche di Palazzo Bricherasio, Torino (Catalogue/Book)
48th October Salon curated by Lorand Hegyi
Belgrade Cultural Center, Belgrade, Serbia (Catalogue)
Ecce Omo. Percorsi e poetiche oltre l’identita’ di genere curated by Eugenio Viola
Palazzo della Regione, Milano
Arte Povera: Now and Then Perspectives for a New Guerrilla Art
Esso Gallery, New York
Random Selections IV curated by Marc Dennis
George Waters Gallery, Elmira College, New York
Giardino, luoghi della piccola realtà curated by Lorand Hegyi
Palazzo delle Arti, Napoli (Catalogue)
Cabinet des dessins n.2 curated by Lòrànd Hegyi
Musée d’Art Moderne de Saint-Étienne Métropole, France
Best of The Lab curated by Matthew Semmler
Yellowbird Gallery, Newburgh, New York
Napoli Presente curated by Lorand Hegyi
Palazzo delle Arti, Napoli (Catalogue)
Nimbi & Penumbrae
DUMBO Arts Center, Brooklyn, New York
Atomica
Esso Gallery and Lombard – Freid Fine Arts, New York
Wasteland: 21st Century Landscape
Roebling Hall, New York
Auf Papier
Kunstverein Jena und Optisches Museum, Jena, Germany
Micro Universe curated by Hélianthe Bourdeaux-Maurin
The Lab Gallery, New York
Minimalist Art Now curated by Joseph Cunningham
Elvehjem Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Spuren und Zeichen Spurensuche
Versicherungskammer Bayern, Munich, Germany
Carta Canta: works on paper from the XX century
Annunciata Grossetti Arte Contemporanea Milano / Barbara Behan Contemporary Art London
Drawings
Plane Space, New York
Fresh Paint curated by Kóan Jeff Baysa
Cheryl Pelavin Fine Arts, New York
L’Arte In Testa /storia un’ossesione da Picasso oltre il 2000 curated by Luca Beatrice
Museo Arte Contemporanea, Isernia, Italy (Catalogue)
Linie 5 positionen in der zeitgenossischen ziechnung
Dina4Projekte Munich, Germany
Gesellschaftsbilder / Images of Society curated by Madeleine Schuppli
Kunstmuseum Thun, Switzerland (Catalogue)
Perforations
McKenzie Fine Art Inc. New York
exIT: Nuove geografie della creativitá Italiana curated by Francesco Bonami
Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin, Italy (Catalogue)
Microwave Three Josee Bienvenu
123 Watts Gallery, New York (Catalogue)
Brief Encounter
Nicholas Profit, Paris
While You Were Out
Fellows Invitational Exhibition, Hudson D.Walker Gallery, Providence, Rhode Island
The Processed Image
450 Broadway Gallery, New York
An American Passion: The Collection of Bob & Susan Summer
McLellan Galleries – Glasgow Museums, Glasgow, UK (Catalogue)
John Moores 18 Liverpool Exhibition
Walker Arts Centre, Liverpool, UK (Catalogue)
East-South Open
Canterbury, UK (Catalogue)
Recent Work
Diorama Gallery, London, UK
Installation For Negative Image at Royal Academy
(Part of “The Art Of Photography” Exhibition)
Royal Academy of Art, London, UK
Amnesty International Grupo Espana 6
Palau Solleric, Palma, Spain (Catalogue)
MOMA New York
OSRAM Munich, Kasen Summer Collection,
MACI (Museo Arte Contemporanea Isernia)