Davide Zulli
°1993, Italy.
Lives and works in Antwerp, Belgium.
Davide Zulli is an Italian artist living and working in Antwerp. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna and Pxl-MAD in Hasselt (BE). His practice is based on the use of speculative narratives drawn from theory, fiction, cinema and role-playing games as a means of exploring the world.
These narratives serve as an imaginative framework to address specific contemporary issues, such as climate change, the dichotomy between the artificial and the natural, and the state of waste and neglect of certain places in cities.
Zulli's background is also related to graffiti; in fact, being part of the graffiti community has allowed him to observe and explore the city from a completely different perspective. He experiences structures, railway stations and hidden underground networks in a way that goes beyond passive everyday use, allowing him to see a clear link between the city and the concept of “Unmonumentality”. In his works he combines natural and organic forms with industrial and artificial elements to create a layering of different symbols, both real and invented, which provide the viewer with multiple suggestions and create unexpectedly familiar narratives.
In recent years Zulli has participated in numerous exhibitions including: ‘PANTA RHEI’ (Geukens & De Vil gallery, BE); ‘Impossible Enough to be an Art Space’ (Lichtekooi, BE); ‘Spells & Promises’ (Creative Factor Turnhout, BE). He curated ‘Ravager of Time’ in 2022, which used an old brewery from the early 1900s as an exhibition space. The aim of the exhibition was to tell the Unmonumental theme through fantasy literature, horror and role-playing.
He participated in and won the ‘galleries’ and ‘polyart’ categories of the Combat Art Prize 2024. Zulli is currently part of the Atelier-FAAR collective in Antwerp; a dynamic reality that uses disused places in the city as a base for its venues, as a result of constant gentrification projects.
Selected exhibitions:
2024, Exit through the Gift Shop, Verduyn Gallery, Moregem (BE)
2024, Non Succede Mai Nulla: Sul Muro, curated by Thomas Ba, AnonimaKunsthalle, Varese (IT)
2024, Risorgiva, curated by Rufus Michielsen, Academia Hoboken, Antwerp (BE)
2024, Spells & Promises, curated by Anna Laganovska, Creative Factory, Turnhout (BE)
2024, Combat Art Prize 2024, Museo Civico Giovanni Fattori ex Granai di Villa Mimbelli, Livorno (IT)
2024, Flasher! Art Space, during Impossible Enough to Be an Art Space, Lichtekooi, Antwerp (BE)
2024, Ephemera, Temp, Antwerp (BE)
2024, PANTA RHEI, curated by Jeffe De Brabandere, Former Gallery of Geukens & De Vil, Antwerp (BE)
2024, Voyage Voyage, The Platform, Antwerp (BE)
2023, Faar and Beyond, Atelier Faar, Antwerp (BE)
2023, Punto Zero, curated by Curatorial School of Art Venice, Venice (IT)
2023, Home-Made as Us, Creative Factory, Turnhout (BE)
2023, Unchained, Arttelex, Antwerp (BE)
2022, Ravager of Time, Faar Atelier, Antwerp (BE)
2022, REA! Art Fair, Fabbrica del Vapore, Milan (IT)
2022, Exponential Growth, Gallery Gallery, Antwerp (BE)
2022, Demolition, KL8, Brussels (BE)
2022, Drawing Art Prize Exhibition, CultuurCentrum De Ververij, Ronse (BE)
2021, Biennale Monza – IX Edition, curated by Daniele Astrologo Abadal, Monza (IT)
2021, Jachtbak (duo exhibition with Rachel Daniels), Hasselt (BE)
2021, Kabinet, curated by Aaron Victor Peetersen, Genk (BE)
2021, Miniheim – Forbidden City, Antwerp (BE)
2020, Sottosopra (online), curated by Davide Rivalta and Anna de Manincor ABABO, Bologna (IT)
2019, Video Sound Art Festival – Ninth Edition, curated by Laura Lamonea and Thomas Ba, Liceo Scientifico Volta, Milan (IT)
2019, Lo Studio, Cultural Association SUB STRATO, Varese (IT)
2019, Art Expo, in collaboration with LUCA Sint-Lukas Beeldende Kunst, Ghent (BE)
2019, Link, DeSerre, Hasselt (BE)
2019, Dionysos, de Velnix, Tongeren (BE)
2018, Container, PXL-MAD School of Art, Hasselt (BE)
2018, Nouvelle Vague 9, curated by Bruno Bandini, Ravenna (IT)
2018, Teseo e il Minotauro, curated by Sara El Kachtaoui, Cultural Association SUB STRATO, Varese (IT)
2018, Collaboration with Luca Bertolo: Il Padre – Ipercorpo, curated by Davide Ferri, Forlì (IT)
2017, Take Me (I’m Yours), curated by Christian Boltanski, Bologna (IT)