Carlo D’Orta, who was
born in Florence in 1955, has lived and worked in Rome since 1974.
He is married and has a son. A jurist, public manager and traveller,
he has pursued his passion for photography for 40 years.
Artistic track record
In 2003, his photographic vision underwent a radical change, also
as a result of the advanced painting courses he followed within
the
Rome University of Fine Arts (RUFA)-Libera Accademia di
Belle Arti di Roma. After dropping a traditional reportage-oriented
approach, Carlo D’Orta has focused on abstraction-oriented
images or images inspired by a metaphysical and Surrealist vision
that relies on either de-contextualization or distortion of the
subjects. He occasionally applies digital image processing to
colours in order to achieve pictorial effects (however, this is
the result of a specific conceptual choice that does not concern
the shapes).
Exhibitions and awards
Since 2009 his photographs have been featured in solo exhibitions
in public venues and private galleries.
Between 2010 and 2011, the “Architectural Rythms”
touring exhibition across Germany featured a series of photographs
selected from the projects “Berlin: white, grey, light”
and “Vibrations”. The exhibition, which was jointly
supported by the Italian Foreign Ministry and the Rome University
of Fine Arts, covered in chronological order Munich, Stuttgart,
Frankfurt, Cologne and Berlin. At the same time, together with
Abruzzo-born artist Danilo Susi, he conceived the photographic
project “Parallel Abstractionisms”. Such project is
based on a two-sided abstraction-oriented common research path:
physical reality as mediated (and made abstract) by crystals’
reflections (D’Orta) and by water (Susi). This work was
on show in Ancona (Atelier Arco Amoroso), Pescara (Aurum) and
Milan (Spazio Oberdan and Spazio PWC Experience).
In 2012, D’Orta was shortlisted by the jury of the Sony
World Photo Award – perhaps the most important photography
award in the world – within the “Professional-Conceptual
Photography” category. His earlier awards include "Voto
on line" (Online vote) in the “Celeste Prize”
competition in 2010, and an honourable mention in "Premio
Arte Mondatori" in 2009. Moreover, in 2011 he won the “Il
segno-Man Ray” award and was among the finalists in other
art competitions such as Basilio Cascella (Museo d’arte
contemporanea di Ortona), Nocivelli (Ass. Culturale Techne,
Brescia), Ora (Ass. Culturale Radar, Venice) and Massenzio Arte
Contemporanea (Ass. Culturale Massenzio, Rome).
He has worked with a number of art critics such as Valerio
Dehò, Andrea Romoli Barberini, Loris Schermi, Alessandro
Trabucco and Wilfried Dechau who supervised his exhibitions
and catalogues. Among those who wrote about D'Orta are critics
Giovanni Benedicenti, Manuela Congedi, Gianni De Mattia, Genny
Di Bert, Ann-Katrine Gunzel, Katharina Hausel, Carola Peter,
Clara Rondonotti, Anna Soricaro and Floriana Tondinelli, artists
Tullio De Franco and Alfio Mongelli, as well as journalists
Giorgio Criscuolo, Valentina Di Pietro, Giorgio Giovannetti,
Emanuele Marsigliotti, Roberto Senigalliesi.
The Romberg Arte Contemporanea in Latina is his reference art
gallery.
Solo exhibitions
2012 – (May)
Rome – Studio Transit Architettura, in partnership with Romberg Arte
Contemporanea - (Un)real city (together with Claudio De Micheli) - Curators:
Italo Bergantini and Alessandro Trabucco
2012 – (May)
Milan – Mia Fair 2012, Stand 9/Romberg
Arte Contemporanea –
Biocities – curators: Italo Bergantini and
Valerio Dehň
2012 – (January)
Stuttgart (Germany)
– F75 Gallery – Spiegelungen – Curator:
Wilfried
Dechau
2011 – (December)
Berlin (Germany) –
Italian Institute of Culture –
Architectural
rhythms/
Berlin BGL and Vibrations – curator: Katharina Hausel
2011 – (October)
Cologne (Germany) –
Italian Institute of Culture – Architectural
rhythms/
Berlin BGL and Vibrations – curator: Ann-Katrin Gunzel
2011 – (September)
Rome (Italy) –
ClarixArt Home Gallery –
Surrealist landscapes
– curator: Clara Rondonotti
2011 – (June-September)
Milan (Italy)
– Spazio Oberdan (Art gallery owned by the
Province)
–
Parallel abstractionisms (together with Danilo
Susi) – curator:
Valerio
Dehň
2011 – (May)
Rome (Italy) – Galleria
Tondinelli –
Architectural rhythms
2011 – (May)
Frankfurt (Germany) –
Goethe Institut –
Architectural rhythms /
Berlin
BGL and Vibrations – curator: Carola Peter
2011 – (April)
Rome (Italy) – Rome
University of Fine Arts –
Parallel abstractionisms
(A
Roman preview, together with Danilo Susi) – curators:
Loris Schermi and
Genny
Di Bert
2011 – (January)
Pescara (Italy) –Aurum
(Town hall gallery)–
Parallel
abstractionisms
(together with Danilo Susi) – curator: Giovanni Benedicenti
2010 – (November-December)
Stuttgart
(Germany) – Architektenkammer Baden -
Württemberg
Architectural Rhythms / Berlin: white, grey, light
– curator:
Wilfried
Dechau
2010 – (October)
Munich (Germany) –
Italian Institute of Culture –
Architectural
rhythms
/Vibrations (curator: Floriana Tondinelli)
2010 – (March)
Ancona (Italy) –
Atelier dell’Arco amoroso (art gallery owned by the
Province)
-
Parallel abstractionisms (together with Danilo Susi)
2009 –
Rome (Italy) – The Portuguese
Institute of Saint Anthony –
Metropolis and
soul
Collective exhibitions
2011 – Rome – Spazio espositivo ISA/Associazione
Culturale Massenzio – Exhibition
featuring the
shortlisted artworks of the 15th Massenzio
Arte Contemporanea Award
2011 –
Latina – Romberg Arte Contemporanea
–
PhotoReload (Naked City) –
curators:
Italo Bergantini and Alessandro Trabucco
2011 –
Istanbul (Turkey) -
21th Artists
Istanbul Art Fair (Italian Pavilion)
2011 –
Milan (Italy) – Spazio PwC
Experience –
Abstract realism
(together
with Danilo Susi and Albano Paolinelli) – curator: Vario Dehň
2011 –
Spoltore (Pescara, Italy) - Area
E-spo' -
Parallel abstractionisms (jointly
with
Danilo Susi) - on the occasion of the 29th edition of the Spoltore
Ensemble
2011 –
Scarpizzolo (Brescia, Italy) –
Associazione Culturale Techne -
Exhibition
featuring
the shortlisted artworks of the 3rd Nocivelli Contemporary
Art
Award
2011 –
Gravina in Puglia (Bari, Italy)
– Presenze/Assenze: installazioni d’arte nei
luoghi
(Presence/Absence: art installations according to places)
–
curator: Anna Soricaro
2011 –
Milan (Italy) – Galleria
Zamenhof –
Exhibition featuring the shortlisted
artworks
of the 3rd edition of “Il Segno-Man Ray” award (together
with D.
Susi)
2011 –
Ortona (Chieti, Italy) –
Museo civico di arte contemporanea/Palazzo
Farnese
–
Exhibition featuring the shortlisted artworks
of the 55th "Basilio
Cascella"
contemporary art award
2011 –
Barletta (Italy) – Centro
Culturale ZeroUno –
Percorsi in continuo divenire
(Endlessly
changing pathways) – curator: Anna Soricaro
2010 –
New York (U.S.A.) – The
Invisible Dog Art Center –
Celeste Prize 2010 Final
Exhibition
2009 –
Rome (Italy) – Rome University
of Fine Arts-Libera Accademia di Belle Arti
–
Babele
2006 –
Rome (Italy) – The Portuguese
Institute of Saint Anthony –
Arte per l’Africa
–
promoted by Amref and Ipsar
Acknowledgments and reviews
2012 –
Sony World Photo Award 2012 –
World Photo Organisation (WPO) –
Shortlisted
within the “Professional-Conceptual Photography”
category
2012 –
Premio O.R.A. (1st edition) –
Associazione Culturale Radar (Venice) –
Shortlisted
2011 –
15th edition of Premio Massenzio Arte Contemporanea
– Associazione
Massenzio
Arte (Rome) –
Finalist
2011 –
3rd edition of Premio Nocivelli
– Associazione Culturale Techne (Roncadelle,
Brescia)
–
Finalist
2011 –
3rd edition of “Il Segno-Man Ray”
award – Galleria Zamenhof (Milan) –
Award
winner (together with
D.Susi)
2011 –
55th edition of Premio Basilio Cascella
– Museo civico di arte
contemporanea
di Ortona (Chieti) –
Finalist
2010 –
Celeste Prize 2010 – Associazione
culturale Celeste –
Winner of the Online
vote
(this work, which was the most voted among over 1800 artworks
in the
competition,
was featured in the exhibition of the shortlisted artworks at
the
Invisible Dog Art Center in New York. In spring 2011, it was
chosen by
the
director of US movie “Arbitrage” (with R. Gere and
S. Sarandon) to be
used
in some interior scenes.)
2009 –
Premio Arte Mondatori –
Shortlisted
Personal Catalogues
2012 –
Carlo D’Orta/MIA Milan Art Fair 2012 – curated
by Romberg Arte
Contemporanea –
with a review by Valerio Dehň – page 7
2010 -
Architectural rhythms-Architektonische rhythmen
Tondinelli – with reviews
by
Francesco Maria Greco, Valerio Dehò and Floriana Tondinelli
- page 141
2010 -
Parallel abstractionisms – together with
Danilo Susi – with reviews by
Loris
Schermi, Giorgio Giovanetti and Vittorio Cei - page 80
2009 -
La metropoli e l’anima (Metropolis and soul)
– with reviews by Alfio Mongelli,
Gianni
De Mattia and Tullio De Franco – page 72
2009 -
Vibrations – with reviews by Andrea Romoli
Barberini and Tulllio De Franco
page
36.
Public collections
Carlo D’Orta’s photographic works or paintings can be found
in the following public collections:
- Italian Institute of Culture, New York (USA)
- Architektenkammer Baden-Württemberg, Stuttgart (Germany)
- Italian Institute of Culture, Munich (Germany)
- Province of Ancona Italy)
- Province of Milan (Italy)
- Town of Pescara
- Campania Regional Council, Naples (Italy)
- Portuguese Institute of Saint Anthony, Rome (Italy)
