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Eugenio Viola (Naples, 1975) is anItalianart critic andcurator based inBogotá.
Viola is the current Chief Curator of theBogota Museum of Modern Art (MAMBO),[1]Colombia. He is a prolific contributor ofArtforum. Previously, he was curator of the Italian Pavilion at the 59th Biennale.[2] He is also part of the jury and decision committee of theJulius Baer Prize for Latin American women artists.[3]
As a thinker, Eugenio Viola is one "of the most talented and inspirational young people who are driving forward the art world today”[4] as stated by the British art magazineApollo in 2014. He was voted the best Italian curator in 2016[5] and 2019[6] by the Italian art magazineArtribune.
Born inItaly, Viola received hisBA in “Cultural Heritage Conservation” from theUniversity Suor Orsola Benincasa in Naples (2001), hisMA in “Organization and Communication of the Visual Arts” from theAcademy of Fine Arts of Brera, Milan (2002), and hisPh.D. in “Methods and Methodologies of Archaeological and Historical-Artistic Research” from theUniversity of Salerno (2010).[7]
Viola is the current Chief Curator ofThe Bogota Museum of Modern Art (MAMBO), a leading Colombian institution. His inaugural project there was the first institutional solo exhibition of work byTeresa Margolles(Estorbo, 2020)[8] in Colombia, which opened in March 2019. During his tenure, he has commissioned major projects byDor Guez (Catástrofe, 2021),[9]Luz Lizarazo (Cicatrices, 2021–2022),[10]Voluspa Jarpa (Sindemia, 2021–2022)[11] andMiguel Angel Rojas (Regreso a la Maloca, 2021)[12] among other artists.
He curates at the MAMBO ‘The Julius Baer Art Prize for Latin American Female Artists’, a biennial award initiated byJulius Baer and theBogotá Museum of Modern Art – MAMBO, the first prize of its kind held inLatin America.
The award winner of the inaugural edition of the prize,Chilean artist Voluspa Jarpa (Rancagua, 1971), portrayed a necessary memory of the social unrest that occurred in both Chile and Colombia in late 2019. Her projectSindemia provided a multifaceted approach to the urgency for documentation and visibility of human rights violations during the protests.Sindemia will tour at theGabriela Mistral Center (GAM) inSantiago, in March 2023, and at the MUNTREF, Center of Contemporary Art (Hotel of Immigrants),Buenos Aires, in July 2023.
From 2017 to 2019, Viola was the Senior Curator at thePerth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA), inWestern Australia,[13] where his curatorial practice was focused on cultivating and strengthening the institution's relationship with the Asia-Pacific region. He presented the first Australian solo exhibition ofKimsooja (Zone of Nowhere, 2018), in which the work extended beyond the walls of PICA and into the streets of Perth, where iterations ofTo Breathe – The Flags (2012-2018) materialized as site specific installations around the city. Viola has also been instrumental in a promising partnership between PICA and theTaipei Fine Arts Museum as part of the City of Perth and Taipei Residency Exchange Program.[14]
From 2009 to 2016, he held a curatorial position atMADRE, the Contemporary Art Museum of Naples, Italy. From 2013 to 2016, as Curator at Large, he was responsible for the research and development of MADRE Museum's collection (Performing a collection project). He also co-curated the first Italian large-scale exhibitions ofBoris Mikhailov andFrancis Alÿs, retrospective exhibitions devoted toVettor Pisani andGiulia Piscitelli, and a complexDaniel Buren’s site-specific project.[15]
From 2009 to 2012, he was the Curator of the Project Room, a space dedicated to young and experimental artists organizing a network residence and exhibition program in partnership with institutions and art organizations from the Middle East (Transit project), and an annual performance festival namedCorpus. Art in Action (2009-2012),[16] where he presented site-specific performances ofRon Athey,Angela Barretta,Tobias Bernstrup,Andrea Cusumano,Kira O’Reilly,Jamie Shovlin andLustfaust,Milica Tomic,Maria José Arjona,Tania Bruguera,Regina José Galindo,Teresa Margolles, among the others.
He curated the Italian Pavilion at the 59thVenice Biennial,Storia della Note e Destino delle Comete [History of Night and Destiny of Comets],[17] where for the first time in the history of the Italian Pavilion, was presented the work of a single artist,[18] in response to his appointment he declares “A decisive proposal, equating national participation alike other countries. It will be a visionary, courageous project, as is in Tosatti's chords and also in mine.Gian Maria Tosatti has an eccentric background. He has created powerful installations that combine many media, a bit like the synthesis of the arts.History of Night and Destiny of Comets is, for both of us, to date, the most important chapter in this tale, in which our stories once again intertwine and confront each other. This project also cannot fail to take into account our uncertain, metapandemic present”.[19]
As a guest curator, Viola has worked extensively. He curated the Estonian Pavilion at the 56thVenice Biennial (Jaanus Samma,Not Suitable for Work. A Chairman’s Tale, 2015),[20] whose iteration at the Museum of the Occupations inTallinn was listed by the American Hyperallergic amongst the top 15 exhibitions around the world in 2016.[21] Other major projects include:Regina José Galindo,Mechanisms of Power (Frankfurter Kunstverein,Frankfurt,Germany, 2016);The Prince and Queens byKarol Radziszewski (CoCA. Center of Contemporary Art, Torun, Poland,2014); Mark Raidpere'sThe Damage (EKKM-Contemporary Art Museum of Estonia,Tallinn, 2013); the first iteration of the pioneeringMarina Abramović’sThe Abramović Method (PAC - Contemporary Art Pavilion,Milan,Italy, 2012); and the most comprehensive retrospective ofOrlan to date,Le Récit (Musée d’art moderne and contemporain de Saint Etienne Métropole,France, 2007).[22]
He has curated over 70 exhibitions internationally.
He has edited over 50 catalogues and books and contributed to numerous international publications. He is a scholar in theories and practices related toperformance andBody Art. On this subject, he has extensively lectured in Italy and abroad. He has published severalessays, and he has edited the monographs onRegina José Galindo (Ed. Skira, Milan, 2014),Hermann Nitsch (Ed. Morra, Naples, 2013),[23]Marina Abramović (Ed. 24 Ore Cultura, Milan, 2012),[24] andOrlan (Ed. Charta, Milan, 2007).[25] He collaborates on a regular basis withArtforum (USA) andArte (Italy). His writings also appeared in several Italian art magazines such asFlash Art,Segno, Arte e Critica, and the Spanish Exit Express. He is among the contributors ofQuaderni d'arte italiana, the institutional magazine ofQuadriennale di Roma.[26]
He is a member of IKT[27] (“International Association of Curators of Contemporary Art”);[28] and he is on several awards international committees and panels.
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