Eugenio Viola Appointed Senior Curator at Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts

Italian curator and art critic Eugenio Viola, who was appointed senior curator at the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA) last December, took up his new post on February 1.

Viola is an esteemed member of the international arts community and boasts an impressive set of credentials. Since 2009, he has held various curatorial positions at Museo d’Arte Contemporanea Donnaregina (MADRE) in Naples, during which he oversaw the development of the museum’s collection and headed major curatorial projects. From 2009 to 2012, Viola worked in MADRE’s Project Room and was responsible for presenting the “Transit” project, which saw the museum partner with several institutions across the Middle East for a series of exhibitions and residencies. At the museum, he also co-curated the blockbuster solo exhibitions of Belgian conceptual artist Francis Alÿs (2014) and Ukrainian photographer Boris Mikhailov (2015­–16).

In addition to his work at MADRE, Viola has worked independently and as a guest curator at several major Italian art institutions, including the Morra Greco Foundation in Naples, and the Padiglione d’Arte Contemporanea in Milan. He has showcased the work of many high profile artists, including Regina José Galindo, Mark Raidpere and Marina Abramovic. In 2015, Viola curated the Estonian pavilion at the 56th Venice Biennale, which featured the project of artist Jaanus Samma and his research into the hidden lives of homosexuals in Soviet Estonia during the 1960s.

Viola holds a PhD in performance and bodily poetics from the University of Salerno and has published widely on the subject. These interests led him to establish the annual performance festival Corpus. Art in Action (2009–12).

Viola’s curatorial interests are well aligned with those of PICA, a respected institution for artistic experimentation, analysis and discussion. Considered the city’s focal point for contemporary art, PICA is dedicated to the promotion and presentation of visual culture and is recognized for the breadth of both its artistic and educational programs. The institution recently held a solo exhibition of works on paper by late Australia artist Gordon Bennett (2016). 

Brittany Dale is an editorial intern at ArtAsiaPacific.

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