Maurizio Cattelan

Maurizio Cattelan was born in 1960 in Padua, Italy. He lives and works in New York, USA.


As a self-taught artist, Cattelan transitioned from his career as a furniture maker to pursue art in 1989. His early works often critique the personalities and conventions of the art world, establishing him as a conceptual “enfant terrible”. Cattelan rose to international prominence in New York with his controversial piece La Nona Ora (The Ninth Hour) in 1999, featuring a wax statue of Pope John Paul II struck by a meteorite, initially showcased at Kunsthalle Basel.


Renowned for his bold and often provocative approach, Cattelan is among the most celebrated and contentious figures in contemporary art. His playful manipulation of materials, objects, and actions generates semantic shifts, challenging both artistic norms and institutional boundaries. By placing his creations in unconventional contexts, Cattelan incites commentary and engagement from viewers.


Cattelan’s work is in the permanent collections of Fondation Pinault, Paris; Fonds National d’Art Contemporain, Puteaux; F.R.A.C., Languedoc-Roussillon and Nord-Pas de Calais; Gilles Fuchs Collection, Paris; The Israel Museum, Jerusalem; The Dakis Joannou Collection, Athens; Castello di Rivoli, Museo di Arte Contemporanea, Turin; Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin; Jumex Collection, Mexico City; Migros Museum, Zurich; Elaine Dannheisser Collection, New York; Guggenheim Museum, New York; Rubell Family Collection, Miami and Seattle Museum of Contemporary Art, Seattle.

Biography

Solo exhibitions
Year
Country, Exhibition Name, Location
2024
S, The Third Hand, Moderna Museet, Stockolm
2023
ROK, WE, Leeum Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul
2022
CH, Wish You Were Here, UCCA - Sea World Culture and Arts Center (SWCAC), Shenzhen
I, You, MASSIMODECARLO, Milano
2021
F, Bourse de Commerce Pinault Collection, Bourse de Commerce Pinault Collection, Paris
PRC, The Last Judgment, UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing
I, Breath Ghosts Blind, Pirelli Hangar Bicocca, Milano
2019
UK, Maurizio Cattelan, Blenheim Palace, Woodstock
2016
F, Not Afraid of Love Curated by Chiara Parisi, Le Monnaie, Paris
2014
USA, Cosa Nostra, Venus Over Manhattan, New York
2013
CH, Kaputt, Beyeler Foundation, Basel
PL, Amen, Center of Contemporary Art Zamek Ujazdowski, Warsaw
2012
PL, Maurizio Cattelan Amen, Center of Contemporary Art Zamek Ujazdowski, Warsaw
UK, Collection Sandretto Re Rebaudengo: Maurizio Cattelan Curated by Francesco Bonami e Achim Borchardt-Hume, Whitechapel Gallery, London
2011
USA, Maurizio Cattelan: All, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
2010
USA, Maurizio Cattelan Curated by Franklin Sirmans, The Menil Collection, Houston
GR, Maurizio Cattelan, DESTE Foundation Project Space - Slaughterhouse, Hydra
I, Maurizio Cattelan, Palazzo Reale, Milano
2009
I, Maurizio Cattelan, QuadriennalediRoma, Palazzo dell’Esposizioni, Roma
2008
D, Maurizio Cattelan, Kölner Synagoge, Stommeln
A, Maurizio Cattelan Curated by Rudolf Sagmeister, Kunsthaus Bregenz, Bregenz
D, Untitled, Synagoge Stommeln Art Project, Pulheim
2007
UK, New Work, Tate Modern, London
D, Maurizio Cattelan, Museum für Moderne Kunst Frankfurt e Portikus, Frankfurt am Haim
2004
I, Maurizio Cattelan: progetto speciale, Facoltà di Sociologia, Trento
F, Maurizio Cattelan, Musée du Louvre, Paris
F, Now Curated by Laurence Bossé, Hans Ulrich Obrist e Angeline Scherf, Musée d’Art Moderne, Paris
I, Maurizio Cattelan Curated by Fondazione Nicola Trussardi, Piazza XXIV Maggio, Milano
2003
USA, Maurizio Cattelan, MOCA The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
D, Maurizio Cattelan, Museum Ludwig, Köln
GR, Maurizio Cattelan, DESTE Foundation for Contemporary Art, Athens
2002
USA, Maurizio Cattelan, Marian Goodman Gallery, New York
Group exhibitions
Year
Country, Exhibition Name, Location
2023
I, Reaching for the Stars, Da Maurizio Cattelan a Lynette Yiadom-Boakye Curated by Arturo Galansino, Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi, Firenze
2022
I, Winter Wunderkammer, MASSIMODECARLO, VSpace
CH, Open House, Genthod, Genève
F, Hyperréalisme. Ceci n’est pas un corps, Musée Maillol, Paris
F, Hypernuit, CAPC - musée d'art contemporain de Bordeaux, Bordeaux
I, The Impermanent Collection #3, GAMeC – Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Bergamo, Bergamo
2021
F, Black and White in the Pinault Collection, Couvent des Jacobins, Rennes
D, Diversity United, Flughafen Tempelhof, Berlin
I, Before the Cockerel Crows. Prima che il gallo canti. Works from Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Collection, Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Guarene d'Alba
NL, We Are Animals, Kunsthal Rotterdam, Rotterdam
I, Villa Chiuminatto, Villa Chiuminatto, Torino
2020
UK, JUNQUE Curated by Jamian Juliano Villani, Massimo De Carlo, London
DK, Animals in Art, Arken Museum of Modern Art, Ishøj
2019
I, Notti magiche. Arte italiana anni novanta dalla collezione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Torino
2018
I, Dancing with Myself Curated by Martin Bethenod, Florian Ebner, Punta della dogana, Venezia
I, Take Me (I'm Yours) Curated by Christian Boltanski, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Chiara Parisi, Villa Medici, Roma
PRC, The artist is present Curated by Maurizio Cattelan, YUZ Museum, Shanghai
2017
IT, Da Io a Noi: La Città Senza Confini, Palazzo Del Quirinale, Roma
F, « TRUCHEMENT » Une exposition des 40e anniversaires du Centre Pompidou et du centre d’art Le Consortium, Le Consortium, Dijon
IT, Take Me (I'm Yours) Curated by Christian Boltanski, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Chiara Parisi, Roberta Tenconi, Pirelli Hangarbicocca, Milano
2016
I, L’image voleé Curated by Thomas Demand, Fondazione Prada, Milano
CH, Urs Fischer: False Friends, Selections from the Dakis Joannou Collection, Musée d’art et d’histoire, Genève
USA, Animality - A Fairy Story by Jens Hoffmann, Marian Goodman Gallery, New York
D, Dancing with my self. Self-portrait and self-invention works from the Pinault collection, Museum Folkwang, Essen
NL, untitled (2001), Museum Voorlinden, Wassenaar
I, The Pagad Curated by Rita Selvaggio, Massimo De Carlo, Milano
I, Passo dopo passo Curated by T. Barshee, M. Everett, D. Michalska, Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Torino
2015
I, Trittico, Fondazione Prada, Milano
I, La Grande Madre, Palazzo Reale, Milano
F, Picasso et l'art contemporain, Grand Palais, Paris
I, Liberi Tutti! Arte e Società in Italia 1989 - 2001, Museo Ettore Fico, Torino
2014
UK, La fine di Dio, Gagosian Gallery, London

Bibliography

Year
Author, Publication Title, Date
2021
Bonami, Francesco, Vanity Fair, May
Skart Magazine, April
Il Giornale di Vicenza, April 26,
Baradel, Virginia, Corriere delle Alpi, May 1,
2020
Giraud, Claudia, Artribune, December
Morvillo, Candida, Corriere della Sera, 21 September
Corriere della Sera, 20 September
2019
Monestiroli, Teresa, Repubblica, November 13
Maida, Desirée, Artribune, December 4
Cascone, Sarah, Artnet News, December 4
Pini, Francesca, 7 - Corriere della Sera, May
Veremondi, Franco, Artribune, May
Bonami, Francesco, Repubblica, September 18
Greenberger, Alex, ARTnews, September 14
Tonelli, Marco, Arte, October
Vertua, Simone, L'Officiel Art, November
Corbetta, Caroline, L'Officiel Hommes, November
ArtReview, October
Pagani, Malcom, Vanity Fair, October
2018
Ben Salah, Myriam e Maurizio Cattelan, Numéro Art, September 2018 / February 2019
Daneri, Anna, L'Officiel Art International, September/October/November
2016
Artribune, 22 April
Sette: Corriere della Sera, 22 Aprile
Arte Economy 24, 9 May
Artribune, 9 May
ll Denaro, 8 May
La Stampa, 10 May
la Repubblica, 10 May
Exibart, 9 May
Corriere della Sera, 10 May
ID Magazine, April
Domus, Aprile

Public collections

Country
Location
France
F.R.A.C., Languedoc-Roussillon
F.R.A.C., Nord-Pas de Calais
Fondation Pinault, Paris
Fonds National d’Art Contemporain, Puteaux
Gilles Fuchs Collection, Paris
Greece
The Dakis Joannou Collection, Athens
Israel
The Israel Museum, Jerusalem
Italy
Castello di Rivoli, Museo di Arte Contemporanea, Torino
Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Torino
Mexico
Jumex Collection, Ciudad de Mexico
Switzerland
Migros Museum, Zurich
United States of America
Elaine Dannheisser Collection, New York
Rubell Family Collection, Miami
Seattle Museum of Contemporary Art, Seattle
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York

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