Giovanni Lamorgese
Visual Artist & Concept Designer
Giovanni Lamorgese graduated from the Art Institute of Bari and continued his training at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome.
With a versatile personality, he expresses his artistic mission in his perception of reality, making it his own by representing it through his unique personal experience. His works are full of symbolism and reflect his in-depth research, featuring subjects inspired by mythological, biblical, and literary imagery, for their own sake and for simplicity of interpretation.
The artistic vision of Giovanni Lamorgese arises from the strict classicism of the masters Canova and Bernini, and evolves through Marcel Duchamp to arrive at Felice Levini and Vettor Pisani. From here, his eclectic study, which eludes unambiguous frameworks, is expressed in an aesthetic territory that defies simple categorization, including the diverse disciplines of sculpture, design, and photography, as well as costume and set design for opera and film.
In 1992 he made his debut in the art world in Rome, where he staged the conceptual paradox between Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Moana Pozzi, with text by Lidia Reghini di Pontremoli, while also collaborating with Felice Levini at the same time for the Opening magazine in Rome, which was directed by Alberto Vannetti.
In the 1990s, he began his career in opera, collaborating with the costume designers Pieroni, Tirelli and Farani for art films with Giovanni Albanese and Alessandro Piva, taking part in numerous shows for the theater and designing costumes and sets for Giuliano Vasilicò.
It is always difficult to mark the line between artist and designer with Giovanni. He has worked on historic residences, farms, and the traditional stone living structures characteristic of Apulia and Sicily, bringing art into everyday life. He transforms private spaces into galleries, such as the Palazzo dell’Elefante della Torre in Galatina with its site-specific installation ‘Iride’ the Dammuso Ishtar with the ‘Ishtar Project for Art’ and the Uno Nove Tre – Liquid Art Gallery in Pantelleria. In addition, he spearheaded the artistic direction of the sustainable design brand RI_USO, transforming industrial waste materials into works of contemporary design.
He has exhibited his objects, photography, and video installations in various museums and galleries, both in Italy and abroad, including USOMAGAZZINO (Pescara), Museo Nuova Era (Bari), Primo Piano LivinGallery (Lecce), the Museum of Allotropya, (Antikyra, Greece), where his work ‘Ichinen’ is part of the permanent collection, MUST Museum (Lecce), Palazzo Reale di Milano for Salone del Mobile, Sphinx Festival, (Tebe, Greece) as an international artist in the exhibition curated by Dores Sacquegna, Swab Fair Barcelona, Paratissima Torino and Maison Objet Paris.
His works have been published in major magazines such as Artribune, Juliet Art Magazine, Exibart, Arte e Critica, Elle Decor USA, Italy and Spain, Marie Claire Maison Italy, AD Italy and France, Domus, Casa Vogue Italy and Brazil.
Solo Exhibitions
‘Iconostasi’, Museo Nuova Era, Bari, February-March 2024
‘Percorso’, Palazzo de Raho, Lecce, October 2023
‘Cava #01’, Studio, Parabita (Le), permanent exhibition since August 2023
‘Abitare l’Altrove’, Palazzo BN, Lecce, June-September 2023
‘Abnegazione’, Scuderie Palazzo Filomarini, Cutrofiano (Le) IT, May 2023
‘A tu per tu’, Museo Nuova Era, Bari IT, January – February 2018
‘Átame – Legami’, Museo Nuova Era, Bari IT, February – March 2013
‘Oggetti Impossibili’, Iosselliani R-01- IOS, Rome IT, December 2011
‘Tratto da’, Museo Nuova Era, Bari IT, October – November 2009
‘L’ultima cena’, Museo Nuova Era, Bari IT, February 2008
‘Il diavolo e l’acquasanta’, Museo Nuova Era, Bari IT, January 2002 – December 2003
RI_USO Design
‘RI_USO Mutamenti’, In the name of creativity by Fabio Rotella, Palazzo Reale, Milan IT, April 2014
‘RI_USO Nomade’, Temporary Museum for New Design, Superstudio Più, Milan IT, April 2014
‘RI_USO si colora’, Maison & Objet, Now! Design à Vivre, Paris FR, January 2014
‘RI_USO presenta citazioni colte – Marcel Duchamp’, Maison & Objet, Now! Design à Vivre, Paris FR, September 2013
Concept design / on Location / Art Director
‘Cava #01: Memorie svelate’, Rosemarie Sansonetti, Parabita (Le), August-October 2024
‘Votiva’, Permanent Contemporary Art Collection, Parabita (Le), 2024
‘Almà Studio’, Parabita (Le), 2021
‘Looove’, Lago di Lesina (Fg), 2017
‘Dimora d’Artista’, Giovanni Lamorgese e Rosemarie Sansonetti, Lecce IT, December 2015
‘Divise dal Mare’, Ishtar per l’Arte 015, Dammuso Ishtar, Pantelleria IT, June 2015
‘Il Cerimoniere’, Luogo d’Arte on Location, Lecce IT, December 2014
‘Giocando al Trullo’, no profit per Peter Pan onlus Roma, Alezio (Lecce) IT, August 2014
“RI_USO Suite 611”, Radisson Blu es. hotel, Rome IT, May 2014
Group Exhibitions
‘La Nuovaera’, Museo Nuova Era, Bari IT, November 2024-January 2025
Fine Aptitude & Other Size Gallery al ‘Giro dei Venti’, Palazzo Filograna, Spongano (Le) IT, July 2022.
‘Castello di carte’, Maghzen, Formia IT, July – August 2021
‘Ulia’, Palazzo Marchesale, Matino (Le) IT, June 2021
‘Contemporanea!’, Ateliers Viaduegobbitre, Reggio Emilia IT, October 2019
‘Leccellenze’, Blanc + Palazzo Biancamano, Gallipoli – Parabita (Le) IT, July – August 2019
‘Between two seas’, Arena 1 Gallery, Santa Monica (LA), USA, March – April 2019
‘Crete’, MAAAC, Cisternino IT, December 2018 – January 2019
‘Hotel Nomade / Objects’, Palazzo dell’Elefante della Torre, Galatina IT, August 2018
‘Galà’, Spazio Murat, Bari, March – April 2018
‘L’applicazione dell’arte’, ‘Tredici Teste – L’ultima cena’, MAAAC, Cisternino IT, December 2017 – January 2018
‘Bozzetto A tu per tu’, Usomagazzino, Pescara IT, December 2017
‘I may not be there’, Giovanni Lamorgese – Pino Pipoli, Palazzo Mongiò, Galatina (Le) IT, August 2017
‘Visionary Art Show’, Primo Piano LivinGallery, Palazzo Vernazza, Lecce IT, May 2017
‘Giovanni Lamorgese’ C/O spazio Da a, Fuorisalone, Milan IT, April 2017
‘Museo Nuova Era, SetUp Contemporary’, Bologna IT, January 2017
‘Percorsi invisibili’, Usomagazzino, Pescara IT, December 2016
‘Museo Nuova Era, Paratissima XII’, Turin IT, November 2016
‘Art and Ars Gallery, Swab Art Fair’, Barcelona – SP, September 2016
‘Sguardi dal Mare’, Uno Nove Tre Liquid Art Gallery, Pantelleria IT, June – November 2016
‘Abnegazione’, Orange 3D Project Room, Online Exhibition, Primo Piano LivinGallery, June 2016
‘Dedicato a Luigi’, Genius Loci, MAAAC, Cisternino IT, April 2016
‘La Tavola’, Iside e la Wunderkammer della fertilità, Primo Piano LivinGallery, Palazzo Vernazza, Lecce IT, March 2016
‘Giovanni Lamorgese for Puglia Design Store’, Spazio Murat, Bari IT, February 2016
‘Giovanni Lamorgese for Museo Nuova Era’, SetUp Contemporary Art Fair, Bologna IT, January 2016
‘Brown effervescence’, 3D Project Room, Primo Piano LivinGallery, December 2015 – February 2016
‘Evergreen’, 3D Project Room, Primo Piano LivinGallery, Lecce IT October – November 2015
‘Pasta Lotus’, Sphinx 2015 Festival, Thebes GR, October – November 2015
‘Fossili’, Medusa Art & Craft, Presicce (Le) IT, July – August 2015
‘In a Pink Room’, Primo Piano LivinGallery, 3D Project Room, Lecce IT, May – June 2015
‘White & Black’, 3D Project Room, Primo Piano LivinGallery, Lecce IT, March – April 2015
‘Drink Helleborus’, collezione permanente Museo di Allotropya, Antikyra GR, September 2014
‘Luce’, Palazzo Mongiò dell’Elefante, Galatina (Lecce) IT, July – August 2014
‘Volo’, DtoB > Design to Business, Sala Murat, Bari IT, May 2014
‘I Sebastiani’, Usomagazzino, Pescara IT, January – February 2014
‘Jabot’, Self portrait IV, Loft Sdw, Lecce IT, December 2013
‘Autoritratto’, Regeneration/a second skin, Primo Piano LivinGallery, Lecce IT, August – October 2013
‘Adamo ed Eva’, MustInTime, Must Museum, Lecce IT, November 2012 – March 2013
‘Oltre il mare’, Ishtar per l’Arte 012, Dammuso Ishtar, Pantelleria IT, June – September 2012