About

Short BIO

Nunzio Paci, Bologna 1977 – Lives and works in Italy

“My whole work deals with the relationship between man and Nature, in particular with animals and plants. The focus of my observation is body with its mutations. My intention is to explore the infinite possibilities of life, in search of a balance between reality and imagination.”

Nunzio Paci is an Italy-based visual artist working in painting and drawing. He has developed a practice concerned with scientific and environmental issues, with particular emphasis on anatomy and the man-nature relationship. His work has been exhibited throughout Europe, the US, and Asia and reviewed extensively. In 2016, he received the NKD International Artist Residency Program funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Culture. The same year, he was featured in Anatomy Rocks, an anthology of over 60 international artists. Most recently, in 2019, he was Artist-in-Residence at Lingnan University (Hong Kong), where he held a semester course in traditional techniques and a talk entitled "Art and Anatomy in Western Culture".

Statement

Nunzio Paci is an Italian visual artist who lives and works in Bologna, Italy. His art-making process is mainly expressed through painting and drawing. Paci has developed a practice which is concerned with philosophical, scientific and environmental issues, with particular emphasis on anatomy and the man-nature relationship.

«My work emerges from the confluence of nature and the human form, where the boundaries between the organic and the spiritual dissolve. I delve into the essence of life’s perpetual metamorphosis, exploring themes of growth, decay, and regeneration. Rooted in the traditions of anatomical and botanical study, my practice intertwines art and science, crafting a visual language that is both poetic and introspective.

At the core of my research lies the body—human, animal, and vegetal—not as a static entity but as a site of transition and transformation. I am drawn to the tension between the fragility of life and its resilience, where decay is not an end but a beginning, a quiet passage into renewal. The intricate details of bones, muscles, roots, and petals become metaphors for the interconnectedness of all living forms, a reminder of the delicate balance that sustains existence.

My creative process is an act of weaving: anatomy with botany, reality with dreams, the tangible with the unseen. Each piece is a map of intersections, where elements of the natural world merge seamlessly with human anatomy. A ribcage unfurls into branches; veins echo the patterns of leaves. These hybrid forms speak of unity, of a world where distinctions blur and life unfolds as a single, interconnected narrative.

Through drawing and painting, I strive to evoke a sense of stillness and contemplation. The muted tones and intricate lines invite viewers to pause, to trace the delicate transitions within the forms. Shadows and textures become vessels for silence, spaces where the visible gives way to the invisible. My intention is not to explain but to suggest, to create openings for interpretation and reflection.»

Exhibitions

SELECTED SOLO SHOWS

2025
Flesh and Memory (two-man show), Galerie Stephanie, Manila, Philippines

2024
Eyes Closed, Galerie Stephanie, Manila, Philippines - installation view

2023
Secret Society, Galerie Stephanie, Manila, Philippines

2022
Di memorie e di innesti - Nella carne, Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche e Neuromotorie dell'Università di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
Di memorie e di innesti - Nello spirito, Oratorio di San Giuseppe, San Giorgio di Piano, Italy - installation view
False Memorie, Museo Casa Frabboni, San Pietro in Casale, Italy - installation view

2021
Quieter Than Silence, Galerie Stephanie, Manila, Philippines

2019
Living Stillness, Lingnan University, Hong Kong, China

2018
Essentia Mutabilis, Galerie Stephanie, Manila, Philippines

2017
Mimesis, Galerie Stephanie, Manila, Philippines - installation view

2016
Succurrere Vitae, Museo delle Cere Anatomiche L. Cattaneo (Antica Sala Anatomica), Bologna, Italy - installation view

2015
The Daily Mood of Nunzio Paci, Herr Beinlich - Contemporary Fine Art, Bielefeld, Germany

2014
In the Garden of Idne, Galleri Oxholm, Copenhagen, Denmark
Humus - Biogenesi del pensiero ibrido, Palazzo del Podestà, Castell'Arquato, Italy

2013
De Signatura Rerum, Galleria Officine dell'Immagine, Milano, Italy - installation view

2012
Ghisa Art Fusion, Fabbrica Saccardo, Schio, Italy

2011
Rhizoma, Museo delle Cere Anatomiche L. Cattaneo, Bologna, Italy - installation view

2007
Ten, Galleria Studio2, Faenza, Italy

2004
Dal figurativo all'ipermaterico, Casa della Cultura, Sala Bolognese, Italy

SELECTED GROUP SHOWS

2025
Blindness, Espaço Exibicionista, Lisbon, Portugal
Dreamland, Blacklight Art Gallery, Valencia, Spain
Art Fair Philippines, Galerie Stephanie, Manila, Philippines
What We Carry, What We Grow, Galerie Stephanie, Manila, Philippines

2024
Three-Hundred Day Millennium, Galerie Stephanie, Manila, Philippines
Archetipi, Museo Irpino - Palazzo della cultura, Avellino, Italy
Shining, C.A.M. Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey
Hunting Stillness, Espaço Exibicionista, Lisbon, Portugal
Art Busan, Galerie Stephanie, Busan, South Korea
CI Bloom, C.A.M. Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey
Il sospetto, Museo Irpino - Complesso Monumentale Carcere Borbonico, Avellino, Italy
Art Fair Philippines, Galerie Stephanie, Manila, Philippines
Just on paper, C.A.M. Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey

2023
Dell'umana dimensione, Palazzo Ducale, Pavullo nel Frignano, Italy
Harvest, Modern Eden Gallery, San Francisco, USA
Endogenia, Paggeria Arte, Sassuolo, Italy
Noli me tangere, Villa Grimani Valmarana, Noventa Padovana, Italy
Inventarium, L'arca degli esposti, Palermo, Italy
Inventarium, Reial Cercle Artístic, Barcelona, Spain

2022
Danse Macabre, Modern Eden Gallery, San Francisco, USA
Visioni dall'infraordinario, Museo Ettore Guatelli, Ozzano Taro, Italy - installation view
Standing Under the Golden Canopy of the Tender Sky (Two-man Show), Galerie Stephanie, Manila, Philippines
Synthesis of Affinities, Art Fair Philippines, Galerie Stephanie, Manila, Philippines
Untamed Splendor, Antler Gallery, Portland, USA

2021
Of Land, Sea & Sky, Haven Gallery, New York, USA
I Piranha Non Sentono i Sapori, Palazzina Storica Peschiera del Garda, IT
Inferno - Oltre l'Abisso, Palazzina Storica Peschiera del Garda, IT
Lewis Carroll, Haven Gallery, New York, USA
CHG 15 Year Anniversary, Corey Helford Gallery, Los Angeles, USA

2020
Full Circle, Modern Eden Gallery, San Francisco, USA
ACSK VII, Corey Helford Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
Pittori Fantastici Nella Valle del Po, PAC - Padiglione D'Arte Contemporanea, Ferrara, Italy - installation view
Fantastical Beasts, Corey Helford Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
100 Years of Federico Fellini, Corey Helford Gallery, Los Angeles, USA

2019
6th Annual Art Collector Show, Corey Helford Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
Comeundone, Beinart Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
Breathing New Life (Three-Man Show), Galerie Stephanie, Manila, Philippines
Position Paper, Galerie Stephanie, Manila, Philippines
Fistfuls of Sky, WOW x WOW, Inverness, UK
ICAF2, Galerie Stephanie, Manila, Philippines

2018
Identity, Nero Gallery, Rome, Italy
ICAF, Galerie Stephanie, Manila, Philippines
Natural Proclivities, Shirley Fiterman Art Center, New York, USA
Origins, Art Fair Philippines, Galerie Stephanie, Manila, Philippines
Utopia, Galerie Stephanie, Manila, Philippines

2017
XMAS'17, Galleri Christoffer Egelund, Copenhagen, Denmark
Familiar, Modern Eden Gallery, San Francisco, USA
Terra Firma, James Freeman Gallery, London, UK
Dark Nature, Last Rites Gallery, New York, USA
Works on paper, Galleria Officine dell'Immagine, Milano, Italy
Organic Enclosures, Art Fair Philippines, Galerie Stephanie, Manila, Philippines

2016
Kunst Zürich, Galleria Officine dell'Immagine, Zürich, Switzerland
Backyard, Galleri Hjorth, Horsens, Denmark
Tempi Adulti, Scuderie di Palazzo Aragona, Vasto, Italy
Modern Bridge, Aleksandre Chavchavadze Museum, Tsinandali, Georgia
Art Stage Singapore, Galleria Officine dell'Immagine, Singapore

2015
One Vision, Gallery Herr Beinlich, Bielefeld, Germany
Art International Istanbul, Galleria Officine dell'Immagine, Istanbul, Turkey
>Vanity Fair, Palazzo delle Orsoline, Fidenza, Italy – installation view
Art Stage Singapore, Galleria Officine dell'Immagine, Singapore

2014
Art International Istanbul, Galleria Officine dell'Immagine, Istanbul, Turkey
Aliens, Museo Casa dell'Ariosto, Ferrara, Italy<
AIR Debut exhibition, Shangyuan Art Museum, Pechino, China
Fundamentet (The Foundation), Galleri Oxholm, Copenhagen, Denmark

2013
Ad Imaginem Suam, MacS - Museo Arte Contemporanea Sicilia, Catania, Italy – installation view
Artists' Waves / Small is Beautiful, ABU DHABI ART, Galleria Officine dell'Immagine, Abu Dhabi, Arab Emirates
Context Art Miami, Miami's Midtown Wynwood Arts District, Galleria Officine dell'Immagine, USA
ArtVerona, Galleria Officine dell'Immagine, Verona, Italy
Swedish Army Loves Flowers, Arna / The Avian Kingdom, Harlösa, Sweden
Aliens, Palazzo Vernazza / E-Lite Studiogallery, Lecce, Italy
Disiecta Membra, Galleria D406, Modena, Italy
[in]KUBO, Sonika, Villa del Conte, Italy
SCOPE Basel, Galleria Officine dell'Immagine, Basel, Switzerland
BAF Bergamo, Galleria Officine dell'Immagine, Bergamo, Italy

2012
All I Desire, Spazio Orlandi, Milano, Italy
SCOPE Miami, Galleria Officine dell'Immagine, Miami, USA
ArtVerona, Galleria Officine dell'Immagine, Verona, Italy
INSIDE ME, Palazzo Fogazzaro, Schio, Italy
Premio COMBAT, Museo Civico G. Fattori ex Granai di Villa Mimbelli, Livorno, Italy
SCOPE Basel, Galleria Officine dell'Immagine, Basel, Switzerland
Le vie dell'acqua, Fondazione Oriani, Ravenna / Magazzini del Sale, Cervia, Italy
Selva Obscura, Galleria Officine dell'Immagine, Milano, Italy
BAF, Bergamo Arte Fiera, Galleria Officine dell'Immagine, Bergamo, Italy

2011
Blooms of Daphne, Fabrica Fluxus Art Gallery, Bari, Italy
Vulpes Pilum Mutare, Museo Civico, Bassano del Grappa, Italy
Basi per l'arte contemporanea, Cava di Roselle, Grosseto, Italy
America Lato A – Lato B, Palazzo Fogazzaro, Schio, Italy
Biennale di Anzio e Nettuno, Forte Sangallo, Nettuno, Italy

2010
La città del 2110, Villa Baldi Sassoli, Bologna, Italy
Aer. Sublime elemento, Palazzo D'Avalos, Vasto, Italy
Rassegna B. Bugatti – G. Segantini, Nova Milanese, Italy

2009
Identità mutanti, C. C. Bertolt Brecht, Milano, Italy
Kaleidoskop, Galerija Lokot, Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina

2008
Lettura Fresca, Museo Civico Medievale, Bologna, Italy
Rassegna G. Segantini, Nova Milanese, Italy
Premio Paolo Parati, Rinascitarte, Vittuone, Italy

2007
Menotrenta, Museo Civico A. Olmo, Savigliano, Italy
Premio Morlotti, Imbersago, Italy

2006
Untitled, Sala Museale del Baraccano, Bologna, Italy
Terzo pianeta a destra, Innovia Arti Contemporanee, Albignasego, Italy

RESIDENCIES & GRANTS

2019
Visual Studies Artists-in-Residence Programme, Lingnan University, Hong Kong, China

2017
Artist in Residency Program, Galerie Stephanie, Manila, Philippines

2016
Nordic Artists' Centre Dalsåsen, Dale, Norway

2015
Schoolhouse Fellowship, Mutianyu, China

2014
Shangyuan Art Museum Artist Residency, Beijing, China

2013
Arna International Residency, Harlösa, Sweden

2009
Kaleidoskop, International Young Artists' Colony, Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina

CONTESTS & AWARDS

2017
Premio Eccellenti Pittori - Brazzale, Italy

2014
Espoarte awards, Artist of the year - under 40 (nomination), Italy

2013
Premio Icona (special mention), Italy
Premio Marina di Ravenna, Italy
Arte in Contemporanea GA/ER, Modena, Italy

2012
Premio Combat, Livorno, Italy
Premio OPERA, Ravenna, Italy

2011
Premio BASI (drawing), Grosseto, Italy
Pulsart Festival, Schio, Italy
Shingle22j Eco Arte (painting), Anzio/Nettuno, Italy

2010
Premio Vasto, Italy
Rassegna Internazionale B. Bugatti – G. Segantini, Nova Milanese, Italy

2009
Co. Co. Co. Como Contemporary Contest (special mention), Italy

2008
Premio Città di Nova Milanese, Italy
Premio Paolo Parati, Vittuone, Italy

2007
Premio Morlotti, Imbersago, Italy
Premio Arti Visive San Fedele, Milano, Italy