Bio
She achieved her Master’s Degree in Sculpture at the Brera Fine Arts Academy, where she was appointed Professor of Foundry Technique in 2022.
Since 2018 she participated in art awards of international relevance such as the Combat Prize, the Vittorio Viviani Prize, the Comel Prize, the Weir Gabbioneta Award, and the Fregellae Sculpture Prize, and exhibited at GIFA (International Foundry Trade Fair) in Düsseldorf.
In 2021 she won We Art Open and was among the finalists for the Cramum Prize and the Exibart Prize. Furthermore, she was finalist at the Mediterranean Contemporary Art Prize, at the Fregellae Prize and at the Artkeys Prize. She was also among the finalist artists at the Vir Viafarini-in-residence and at the art residency In-Edita 2, project coordinated by Galerie Alberta Pane, Ikona Venezia and Marina Bastianello Gallery.
In 2022, not only she exhibited her artworks in a solo show at Manuel Zoia Gallery in Milan, but her first monograph, by Vanillaedizioni, was published. This same year, she was awarded the Arte Laguna 16 Special Prize, inviting her to participate in an art residency at Fonderia Artistica Versiliese. Lastly, she also ranked finalist for the Premio Arte published by Cairo Editore, whose exhibition took place at the Royal Palace in Milan, she was listed finalist for the Exibart Prize and exhibited her artworks for the first time at ArtVerona Fair and at the 2nd edition of Roma Arte in Nuvola.
In 2023, she has two more solo exhibitions in Rome: her second solo show at Triphè Gallery in Rome, curated by Maria Laura Perilli, and a solo show at SpaziCima. She also participated in the HackathonRe-Use, Role of Visual – Sculpture Art Creation in the Context of Sustainable Behaviour, a project co-funded by the European Union as part of the Creative Europe Programme, which involves partners such as Sculpture line, Creative Area 42 and Jan Koniarek Gallery. Moreover, she is among the finalists for ARP – Art Residendy Project promoted by Centro Luigi di Sarro, gets to exhibit her artworks at GASC – Galleria D’arte Sacra Dei Contemporanei in Milano, and wins the 7th edizion of Arcipelago, with the acquisition of an artwork by Rocca dei Bentivoglio Fondation.
In the same year, she participates as a partner in the 2023 International Sculpture Camp at Huafan University, Taiwan, an intercultural and interdisciplinary event consisting of talks and workshops with artists from all over the world.
In 2024, she will participate in an art residency at Villa Greppi. She is the winner of the call Note ai margini – visioni sottolineature e riflessioni sul paesaggio, curated by Associazione Luminanda, for which she created a public sculpture for the municipality of Tremezzina (CO).
Education
2024 Innesti, curated by Associazione ZOE, among the 20 artists selected to participate in a free training course aimed at projecting 6 site-specific artworks in 6 municipalities in the Marche region. Mentor artist ANDRECO
2022 Esaurire/Altrimenti, workshop curated by CampoBase & Vaste Programme, at Fondazione smART, Rome, Italy
2022 THE MOMENTARY NOW School of Performance, course taught by Marcella Vanzo, with merit based schoolarship, ZONA K, Milan, Italy
2021 Indagare le radici, Masterclass promoted by Fondazione Adolfo Pini, mentor artist Marcella Vanzo, Milan, Italy
2021 3D Studio Max, Quasar Institut for Advanced Design, Rome, Italy
2018 La neuroscienza dell’empatia, course promoted by Empaticalab society by Giunti Psychometrics, mentor Giacomo Rizzolatti, Verona, Italy
2015 – 2018 Master in Sculpture, Academy of Fine art of Brera, Milan, Italy
2012 – 2015 Bachelor in Sculpture, Academy of Fine art of Brera, Milan, Italy
Statement
The practice of art as much as religions and myths formation, is common to all human beings and persistent in every culture since the dawn of humanity. In her artworks Federica Zianni tries to explore how art, conceived as a practice, can become a meeting point, to oppose fears of contemporary issues such as identity, cultural heritage and migration, directly and demonstratively, through installations and performances. She works mainly through sculpture making recourse to artificial materials such as resins, inner tubes and tourniquets, juxtaposing classical materials such as brass and bronze with the lost wax bronze casting, her preferred technique. The artist also deals with the theme of self-introspection, creating dynamic and shiny surfaces that do not relate to a clear portrait of those who are being mirrored. Her latest series is connected to the creation of apparently organic, swollen shapes, reflecting on the cultural nature of human beings and its facets, in an operation that recalls classical myths and reinterprets archetypical images of birth, death, creation and destruction.