Graduated from the Accademia delle Belle Arti of Venice in 1987, Michelangelo Penso has been exhibiting his works in various private galleries and public institutions. Specialized in sculpture, Penso works with various materials of industrial origin, mainly rubber, polyester belts, pieces of aluminium and steel to create three-dimentional installations: genetic expanded structures that fill the space they inhabit.
As main shows and partecipations we can mention: Punti Cardinali in the occasion of the 45th Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy (1993); a group show at Galleria Continua in San Gimignano and Galleria L’Attico in Rome, Italy (1997); his partecipation in the Nuit Blanche in Paris, France, in 2004, with an installation for the Université Pierre et Marie Curie and, in the same year, a group show by Hans-Ulrich Obrist at Via Farini Gallery in Milan, Italy. In 2016 Choices at Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France; Onde pixel, a group exhibition for UniCredit, at the UniCredit Pavillion, Milan, Italy; Exhibition at Galerie Backslash, Paris, France and Virage, a group exhibition at Galerie de Roussan in Paris, France. In 2015 Nutrimentum at Galleria d’Arte Moderna Achille Forti, Verona, Italy; Talkonfession, an installation for Progetto Borca, Dolomiti Contemporanee, Borca di Cadore, Italy; Interligne, a group exhibition with Fritz Panzer at Alberta Pane Gallery in Paris, France.
Among his last exhibitions we can enumerate: In 2017-2018 the site-specific installation, Optogenetics, for the cloister of the Museum of Bassano del Grappa, Vicenza, Italy (2017-2018). In 2018 Organismi Estremofili, curated by Leo Lecci, at the Reggia di Caserta, Italy and in De Fils ou De Fibres, a group show at the CAC de Meymac, in Meymac, France. In 2019 Dimensioni Infinite, a solo show curated by Leo Lecci at CAMeC, La Spezia, Italy and Cronòtopo, a solo show at The Flat – Massimo Carasi in Milan, Italy. In 2021 Perspectives, an international group exhibition at Czong Institute for Contemporary Art (CICA) in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea; Non c'è + nessun Virgilio a guidarci nell'inferno, a group show curated by Martina Cavallarin with Antonio Caruso, Opendream Art, Treviso, Italy. In 2022 Le parole e il vento, inseguendo aquiloni, a site-specific installation for the Centro Arti e Scienze Golinelli in Bologna, Italy and at the biennial OpenArt 2022 in Örebro, Sweden. In 2023 TRANSIZIONI Ι impresa – lavoro – società, a group show in Genoa, Italy; Convergenze (Im)possibili, q group show curated by Caterina Gualco and Leo Lecci, Genoa, Italy. In 2024 he participated in Qui non c’è niente da leggere. Libri d’artista dagli archivi genovesi at Museo di Villa Croce, Genoa, Italy.
His work is part of private and public collections in Europe like the Marino Golinelli Foundation, Galila’s Collection and Galleria d’Arte Moderna Achille Forti in Verona, Italy, among others.
