biography
Michael Fliri was born in Tubre, Italy, in 1978. He lives and works in Zurich (Switzerland) and Tubre (Italy).
Subtle and nuanced, the art of Michael Fliri exists on the thresholds between performance, sculpture, photography and video. In his practice, which cannot be subsumed under any single heading, he investigates concepts such as metamorphosis, mutation and disguise: the protagonists in his work – often Fliri himself – time and again undergo a process of transformation. Body, landscape, a thought-out theme and imaginative metaphors together form a compelling whole. “For me transformation means new possibilities, new opportunities. Everything is in motion, not definite. The idea of the not-defined is what interests me most”, states the artist. Central to his work seems to be question of what determines who and what we are. What is our identity? How do we form our image of ourselves? Are we really who we think we are?
Fliri presents himself to the viewer and leaves them on their own, faced by changes. Masks and disguises have always been tied to concepts of changing and multiplicity; they unfold new possibilities, veil and unveil hidden aspects. Fliri’s actions allow for the construction of suspended reality, images so dense and poetic, so enigmatic and dreamy, account for the continuous and mutable flux to which everything is inevitably drawn, but first of all, they reach each one of us in our personal wish of metamorphosis.
Michael Fliri was born in Tubre, Italy, in 1978. He lives and works in Zurich (Switzerland) and Tubre (Italy).
Subtle and nuanced, the art of Michael Fliri exists on the thresholds between performance, sculpture, photography and video. In his practice, which cannot be subsumed under any single heading, he investigates concepts such as metamorphosis, mutation and disguise: the protagonists in his work – often Fliri himself – time and again undergo a process of transformation. Body, landscape, a thought-out theme and imaginative metaphors together form a compelling whole. “For me transformation means new possibilities, new opportunities. Everything is in motion, not definite. The idea of the not-defined is what interests me most”, states the artist. Central to his work seems to be question of what determines who and what we are. What is our identity? How do we form our image of ourselves? Are we really who we think we are?
Fliri presents himself to the viewer and leaves them on their own, faced by changes. Masks and disguises have always been tied to concepts of changing and multiplicity; they unfold new possibilities, veil and unveil hidden aspects. Fliri’s actions allow for the construction of suspended reality, images so dense and poetic, so enigmatic and dreamy, account for the continuous and mutable flux to which everything is inevitably drawn, but first of all, they reach each one of us in our personal wish of metamorphosis.
Selected solo exhibitions include: La luz nunca ve una sombra, Istituto Italiano di Cultura, Madrid (2021); Grenzgänge: Julia Bornefeld & Michael Fliri, Forte di Fortezza, Fortezza, (2019); Michael Fliri. The light never sees a shadow, RLB Atelier Lienz, Lienz, Austria (2018); Replace me as the substitute, Cultuurcentrum Mechelen, Mechelen, Belgium (2017); Becomings, Wendy Norris, San Francisco (2016); Zeppelin Museum, Friedrichshafen, Germany (2014); MAC, Lissone (2013); 0O°°°oo°0Oo°O0, Centro per l’Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Prato (2011); Michael Fliri, Istituto Italiano di Cultura, Madrid (2021).
Selected group exhibitions include: Angelus Loci, Bolzano, Italy (2021); Unlearning categories, Museion, Bolzano (2020); KOPFhoch, Kunst Meran/Merano Arte, Merano (2020); DA.ZWISCHEN, Magazin 4, Bregenz (2019); The Raft, Mu.ZEE, Ostend (2017); Dalla caverna alla luna, Centro per l’Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Prato (2017); La forza della fotografia, Museion, Bolzano (2016); Ex, Mambo, Bologna (2016); Premio Fondazione Vaf, MACRO, Rome (2016); Mapping the Body, Galerie im Taxispalais, Innsbruck (2016); Il sosia. Artists and private collections, Mart - Museo di Arte Contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto, Rovereto (2015); Avatar und Atavismus, Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf (2015); Hors Pistes. Un autre mouvement des images, Centre Pompidou, Paris (2012); Linguaggi e sperimentazioni, Mart - Museo di Arte Contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto, Rovereto (2010); Wonder World. Expecting a restless future, 3rd Moscow Biennale, Moscow (2009); Hopes and Doubts, Fondazione Merz, Turin (2009); Fuori Centro, Hangar Bicocca, Milan (2009).
gallery exhibitions
In Full Bloom
may 12 – july 30, 2010
via a. stradella 7, brown project space, kaleidoscope, luigi presicce studio
images
Like the Ocean - Breathe In Breathe Out, 2022
Print on fabric, foam, wood
230 × 106 × 5 cm
lovesonG, 2022
Print on fabric, foam, wood
155 × 98 cm each
Stargazer (Self-portrait), 2020
Color photograph
105 × 81,5 cm
Stargazer (Self-portrait), 2020
Color photograph
105 × 82 cm
The light never sees a shadow, 2018
Color photograph
72 × 90 cm
Photo: Rafael Kroetz
The light never sees a shadow, 2018
Color photograph
72 × 90 cm
Photo: Rafael Kroetz
Hand, 2021
Color photograph
60 × 48 cm
Hand, 2021
Color photograph
60 × 48 cm
Hand, 2021
Color photograph
60 × 48 cm
My private fog II, 2017
Color photograph
83 x 123 cm framed
Photo: Rafael Kroetz
My private fog II, 2017
Color photograph
83 x 123 cm framed
Photo: Rafael Kroetz
AniManiMism, 2017
Color photograph
90 × 120 cm
Photo: Rafael Kroetz
AniManiMism, 2017
Color photograph
90 × 120 cm
Photo: Rafael Kroetz
AniManiMism, 2017
Color photograph
90 × 120 cm
Photo: Rafael Kroetz
Gloves, 2017
Ceramic casting compound, spray paint
22,5 x 22,5 x 12 cm
Photo: Lorenzo Palmieri
Gloves, 2017
Ceramic casting compound, spray paint
21 x 24,5 x 10 cm
Photo: Lorenzo Palmieri
Gloves, 2017
Ceramic casting compound, spray paint
21,5 x 21 x 10 cm
Photo: Lorenzo Palmieri
Blowing Up the Void, 2016
Ceramic casting compound, spray paint, wood, metal
171 x 50 x 50
Photo: Lorenzo Palmieri
Blowing Up the Void, 2016 (detail)
Ceramic casting compound, spray paint, wood, metal
171 x 50 x 50
Photo: Lorenzo Palmieri
Where do I end and the world begins #8, 2014
Ceramic casting compound, spray paint, wood, metal
170 x 30 x 30 cm
Photo: Lorenzo Palmieri
Where do I end and the world begins #8, 2014 (detail)
Ceramic casting compound, spray paint, wood, metal
170 x 30 x 30 cm
Photo: Lorenzo Palmieri
Video
AniManiMism, 2017
4-channel video installation
Video 1: 10'33"; Video 2: 07'12"; Video 3: 07'34"; Video 4: 06'08"
Photo: Lorenzo Palmieri
AniManiMism, 2017
4-channel video installation
Video 1: 10'33"; Video 2: 07'12"; Video 3: 07'34"; Video 4: 06'08"
Photo: Lorenzo Palmieri
0O°°°oo°0Oo°O0, 2010
Video
3'55''
Let love be eternal, while it lasts, 2006
Video
3'45''
public exhibitions
Villa d’Este
Tivoli
Vita Nova: arte in Italia alla luce del nuovo millennio
16.12.2021 – 5.6.2022
Bolzano, Italy
Angelus Loci
26.11.2021 – 6.1.2022
Museo Provinciale Forte di Fortezza
Fortezza
Sconfinamenti: Julia Bornefeld & Michael Fliri
15.9.2018 – 3.6.2019
Photo: Museo Provinciale Forte di Fortezza
RLB Atelier Lienz
The light never sees a shadow
26.3 – 24.5.2018
Photo: Raiffeisen/Waldner
De Garage - Cultuurcentrum Mechelen
Replace me as the substitute
23.9 – 26.11.2017
Photo: Niels Donckers
Mu. ZEE
Ostend
The Raft. Art is (not) Lonely
22.10.2017 – 15.4.2018
Photo Arne Deboosere
press
Messner Architects Create Three Rest Areas on Hiking Trail in North Italy
Designboom
July 20, 2019
publications
The Mountain Touch
Museo della Montagna
Torino
2022
La luz nunca ve una sombra
Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Madrid
Madrid
2021
Grenzgänge. Sconfinamenti. Border crossings. Julia Bornefeld & Michael Fliri
Forte di Fortezza
Fortezza
2019
Michael Fliri. The Light Never Sees a Shadow
RLB Atelier Lienz
Lienz
2018
Michael Fliri: Replace Me as the Substitute
Mousse Publishing
Milan
2017
Mapping the Body
Verlag für moderne Kunst
Nürnberg
2016
Michael Fliri: Where do I end and the world begins
Gessler Verlag
Friedrichshafen
2014
Michael Fliri
Folio Verlag
Bozen
2012
video
Michael Fliri – La luz nunca ve una sombra
2021
Exhibition at Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Madrid
Meteorite in Giardino 7
2014
Performance at Fondazione Merz, Turin, July 22, 2014. Curated by Maria Centonze and Willy Merz, video courtesy Fondazione Merz.
