Stefano Cagol (born September 11, 1969 in Trento) is an Italian contemporary artist living in Italy, Germany and Norway. He works with video, photography and installation and performance art in the fields of conceptual art, environmental art / eco art and land art, and has reflected for years on borders, viruses, flags and climate issues.
Life
Cagol was born in Trento. He studied at the Institute of Art in Trento, the Academy of Fine Arts in Brera, Milan and at the Ryerson Polytechnical Institute in Toronto, where he was a post-doctoral fellow. He also attended the Internationale Sommerakademie für Bildende Kunst in Salzburg and the ICP-International Center of Photography in New York. He was artist in residence at the Künstlerhaus in Salzburg, at the Leube Group Art's Program of Gartenau, Austria, at the IOR in London in 2003 and in 2005, at International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP) , New York, in 2010, and at BAR International by Pikene på Broen, in Kirkenes, Norway, between 2010 and 2011. In 1998 he took part in the Marshall McLuhan Program in Culture and Technology in Toronto.
Exhibitions
Cagol held a solo show at MART - Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Trento and Rovereto in 2000, curated by Gabriella Belli. His public art intervention "Artists' bridges" took place in Bolzano 2002. In 2004, he exhibited at Superdeluxe in Tokyo and the Stefan Stux Gallery project room in New York. In June–September 2005 he realized a solo exhibition, "Babylon Zoo" at the Oredaria Gallery in Rome (with a critical essay by Pier Luigi Tazzi), and a site specific installation in the hall of the Faculty of Sociology in Trento. In January 2005 he held a solo exhibition in London at Platform titled "LIES" (catalogue with a critical essay by Mami Kataoka).
In 2006, he exhibited "Power Station" as an official satellite project of the Singapore Biennale (the only Italian presence) and "Bird Flu / Vogelgrippe" as special project of 4th Berlin Biennale, supported by the Civic Gallery of Contemporary Art in Trento, Museion, the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Bolzano and the Kunstraum of Innsbruck, Austria.
In 2007, he completed a solo public art installation for the façade of the BeursSchouwburg art center in Brussels (on view from 2007 till 2012). In the same year he realized a project - together with Stealth.ultd, Rotterdam - at Kunst Merano Arte for “From & to,” a solo public art intervention in Venice called "Head Flu,” and a solo show at NADiff - New Art Diffusion, Tokyo.
In 2008, he realized a Parallel Event to Manifesta 7, a special project for the farewell event of Jan Hoet at MARTa Herford in Germany, a public art installation on Petřín Tower at Tina B contemporary art festival in Prague. During the same year he took part in "Eurasia" at Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Trento and Rovereto, in “Arrivals and Departures” at White Box, New York city, in “The Peekskill Project” at HVCCA – Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art, New York.
In 2009, he presented his solo project “11 settembre” simultaneously at MART – Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Trento and Rovereto, at Kunstraum Innsbruck, and at ZKM Karlsruhe, where the artwork became part of the collection. With Error One, he realized a public art installation at MuHKA in Antwerp. On September he was announced as winner of the Terna Prize 02 – for the Megawatt category.
In 2010, he exhibited at the Paul Robeson Gallery of Rutgers University in Newark in “Bittersweet”, at the Other Gallery in Shanghai in “Suspension of Disbilief”, at Palazzo della Triennale in Milan, at SUPEC – Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center.
In 2011, he held a solo show at Priska C. Juschka Fine Art in New York titled “Stockholm Syndrome”. He took part in 54. International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia with an official collateral event / solo show “CONCILIO” curated by Gregor Jansen at San Gallo Church.
His project “The End of the Border (of the mind),” commissioned by the Barents Art Triennale at the extreme northern border of Norway, had its start from the Vajont dam in Italy in the fifth anniversary of the tragedy and developed as a trip / expedition in March and April 2012.
He took part in 55. International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia with the project “The Ice Monolith” part of the Maldives Pavilion curated by CPS Chamber of Public Secrets at Gervasuti Foundation, Venezia. In 2014 he took part in Critical ways of seeing at Goldsmiths (University of London).