Beppe Borella

BEPPE BORELLA was born in Bergamo in 1972. He began his career as a blacksmith during which he had the opportunity to discover and practice the various construction techniques of iron. Thanks to gallerist Stefano Fumagalli, he discovers the art world and becomes primarily interested in sculpture, delving into the works of the great masters of contemporary art, and dissecting the methodologies masterfully used later in his works. He collaborates with Giuseppe Uncini and creates various artworks made of iron and concrete, while later discovering marble, a material that resonates with his strong vitality. Using this material, the artist creates a series of sinuous and ironic sculptures that are made in different sizes, from simple desk paperweights to large outdoor sizes. 

Within a few years, the technique with which he works a material as precious and complex as marble, becomes flawless: the surface is smooth and worked to the millimeter with an almost surgical precision that makes the stone seem soft and easily malleable. In Borella's works, precious marbles meet Pop Art in its playful, eye-catching and refined ideal. The decontextualized everyday object in Andy Warhol's, Roy Lichtenstein’s, Robert Rauschenberg's Pop Art, is, in Borella's case, linked to his childhood, the 1980s and 1990s. Lego, pacman, space invaders, Risko pawns, skateboards - the products that marked a generation become the real protagonists of his sculptures, as if to reappear, embellishing themselves with the charm of the past but with a contemporary guise and an eternal material, that is, marble.

The artworks are created from precious marbles coming from all over the world: from Carrara Marble, Bianco Sivec or Valentine Red to the green marble of Guatemala and the rare Azul marble of Macauba. In his immense work, there is not only an interest related to the shape of the artwork, but also to the material with which it is imagined and constructed; different marbles merge in his sculptures creating combinations of colors and breath-taking shades. In this case the material is always left visible as an integral part of the artwork and we find ourselves as dazzled by the natural veins of a Caracalla as by the crafted forms of a huge block of Lego. Other times, the artist decides to intervene with the use of color over stone, playing with the viewer, who is amazed to discover that what looks like a plastic object is actually a large block of beautifully carved granite. The perfect union that Borella is able to create between craftsmanship and creativity, revolutionizes the world of sculpture and the way of conceiving the use of materials. Recognizable iconographies and important symbols of contemporary society and culture communicate to us through irony, a powerful means of expression that gives a touch of lightness, relieving the material from its weight, entertaining both the artist and the observer.  

Main Exhibitions and Art Fairs:

2024 EQUI/VOCI. Le Salon des Refusės, mostra alla galleria Gare 82, Brescia

2023 GIVE PEACE A CHANCE. Mostra al Museo Nazionale di Archeologia di mare Caorle (VE)

2023, IL FANTASMA DELLA FORMA (VENEZIA). Mostra al Museo Civico della Laguna Sud Chioggia VE;

2022/2023, UNMONDOPOP (BRESCIA). Mostra al castello di Desenzano del Garda (BS);

2022, PARATISSIMA CIRCUS (TORINO). In occasione dell'anno dell'Art week end di Torino. Una fiera nel Complesso della Cavallerizza;

2022, APPROPRIATION (VENEZIA). Mostra al museo civico della laguna sud Chioggia VE;

2021, MOSTRA PERSONALE MATERIA CREATIVA (PARMA). In occasione dell'anno di Parma Capitale della Cultura 2021;

2020, ANDY WARHOL AND FRIENDS (BERGAMO). Un omaggio alla pop art, opere del grande Maestro. Affiancate da artisti contemporanei;

2020, AFFORDABLE ART FAIR (MILANO). Fiera d’arte contemporanea presso “Superstudio più” in via Tortona 27 Milano, nello stand “ROKA Art Gallery” (Padova);

2020, BAF (BERGAMO). Mostra mercato di arte moderna e contemporanea. Mostra mercato di Arte Moderna e Contemporanea presso lo stand “Cabiria Art Gallery” alla Fiera di Bergamo;

2019, RED DOT MIAMI (MIAMI, FLORIDA, USA). Fiera internazionale d’arte moderna e contemporanea. Wynwood Arts District Miami presso lo stand della “Roka Art Gallery” (Padova);

2019, BEPPE BORELLA (BERGAMO). Mostra personale con Panasonic Italia. In occasione della presentazione di nuovi prodotti Panasonic, Chincarini.

2019, "EXSA" EX CARCERE S. AGATA, CITTA' ALTA (BERGAMO). Mostra Personale "KageBoom!" presso ex carcere S.Agata a Bergamo Alta in occasione dell'Art2Night;

2019, MUSEO D'ARTE CONTEMPORANEA DI LUZZANA - DONAZIONE MELI (BERGAMO). Personale "Dialogo nel contemporaneo" presso il Castello Giovannelli di Luzzana;

2019, AFFORDABLE ART FAIR 2019 (BRUSSELS, BELGIO). Fiera d'arte contemporanea presso tour & taxis Brussels, nello stand della “Roka Art Gallery” (Padova);

2019, AFFORDABLE ART FAIR (MILANO). Fiera d'arte contemporanea presso “Superstudio più” in via tortona 27 milano nello stand “Roka Art Gallery” (Padova) e lo stand associazione “Pontixlarte” (Milano);

2019, BAF BERGAMO ARTE FIERA (BERGAMO). Mostra mercato di arte moderna e contemporanea con la galleria “Isabella mura” presso la Fiera di Bergamo;

2018, RED DOT MIAMI (MIAMI, FLORIDA, USA). Fiera internazionale d'arte moderna e contemporanea con la “Roka Art Gallery” (Padova) presso il “Mana Wynwood Convetion Center”;

2018, ARTEXPO NEW YORK (USA). Fiera internazionale d'arte moderna e contemporanea. Pier 94, stand 600, New York, presso la “Roka Art Gallery” (Padova);

2018, EQUITA SIM INVESTMENT BANKING (MILANO). Mostra personale "Tableaux sculptures" a cura di Stefano Bianchi in collaborazione con “Pontixlarte” associazione culturale;

2017, MOSTRA PERSONALE ATTITUDE ITALIENNE (PARIGI). Galerie-espace Le Marais, 15 rue Elzèvir 75003 Paris, a cura di Stefano Bianchi e associazione “Pontixlarte” (Milano);

2017, AFFORDABLE ART FAIR NEW YORK (USA). Fiera d'arte contemporanea al Metropolitan pavilion, 125 west 18th street, New York, presso la galleria “Studio Ambre Italia”;

2016, LUXEMBOURG ART FAIR (LUXEMBOURG). International art fair, Luxexpo Parc Expo, Luxembourg presso la galleria “Studio ambre italia” Padova);

2012, GALERIE DU TILLEUL, CHAMPTAUROZ (SVIZZERA). Mostra collettiva “L’art Contemporain Italien ii”;