Stefano Calligaro

Stefano Calligaro (b. 1976, Cividale del Friuli, Italy; lives and works in Cluj-Napoca, Romania) is an artist and poet whose work explores the transformative potential of language.

Through a visual world made of words and allusions, in 2019 he pared back the eclectic aesthetics of his practice to focus entirely on writing what he calls Poetricks: a form of clandestine, ambiguous (anti)poetry, free from fixed or conventional interpretations, actively questioning both the value of writing and its content, as well as the significance of being an artist and poet today.

Central to Poetricks is also their “Materialization” from simple written text into physical artworks. After writing a Poetrick, Calligaro leaves the choice of form and the actual making of the artwork to others: gallerists, curators, local manufacturers, publishers, or anyone else who invites him to present his Poetricks to the public. Materializations may take the form of paintings on canvas, books, poster editions, wall paintings, embroideries, silkscreen prints, and more, while keeping intact and present their (in)formal linguistic identity.

This collaborative approach makes those involved co-makers of the artwork itself and positions Calligaro less as a traditional artist and more as a composer who writes the score and invites others to perform it. In this way, both Calligaro's art and poetry find their place in a form of writing that is not, in fact, writing, and in artworks that are not merely objects—a place where poetry exists not only in the words but also in the space that surrounds them.

Solo exhibitions include: One Poetrick a day, Proyecto Reme, Palma, Mallorca (2025); Poetricks (big and smalls), Invitro, Cluj-Napoca (2025); Poetricks, Spazio Leonardo, Milan (2025); Glitterature, Sabot, Cluj-Napoca (2023); New Poetrickal-materialization, SECONDroom, Antwerp (2021); THE BUCHAREST GP, Invitro, Bucharest (2019); How to piss in public, curated by Noor Mertens, Kunstverein Langenhagen (2017); PETANQFUCK, Sabot, Cluj-Napoca (2017); UreallyWnnaClimbThStairkaseOfSUccess MuffnLicker?!, MÉLANGE, Cologne (2017); Stefano Calligaro and Alex Ebstein, Frutta, RoME (2016); All-Yo! Crypto-Phylo’s, SABOT, Cluj-Napoca (2015); Economists are watching, Frutta, Rome (2015); Martini - Campari - Seltz = Americano, JosedelaFuente, Santander (2015); Infused Logic Standardized Methods, Bikini, Lyon (2014); &, Self Service Open Art Space, Stuttgart (2013); For Not Turning All My Nothing Into Something, SABOT, Cluj-Napoca (2012); Plants, rocks and a fish inhabited pond, Wcw gallery, Hamburg (2011); Two ways to look at, Secondroom, Antwerp (2011); Flat folding, White Heat, Stuttgart (2009); Arrangements, Agenzia04, Bologna (2009); Stefano Calligaro, Walden Affairs, Den Haag (2009); Stefano Calligaro, agenzia 04, Bologna (2006); Tailgrab, Perugiartecontemporanea, Padova (2004); Blind Date, (with Alex Cecchetti), Via Farini, Milano (2002).

Group exhibitions include: Biblioteques en flames, Biblioteca Municipal Joan Alcover, curated by Francesco Giaveri, Palma, Mallorca (2025); There’s more to the problem, curated by Francesco Giaveri, META Spațiu, Timișoara, RO (2024); Kayu in Viaggio, Kayu, travelling exhibition on catamaran ELSSA from Bali toRaja Amapat, Indonesia (2024); A tower of birds, curated by Horațiu Lipot and Radu Comșa, Conector, Cluj-Napoca (2024); Histery of Art, UNA galleria, Piacenza (2023); Offset, curated by Claude Closky, Centre des livres d'artistes, Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche (2023); Place stamp here, curated by Jan Steinbach, Centre des livres d'artistes, Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche (2023); Inverse, Galerie Emmanuel Hervé/ Galerie Thomas Bernard, Paris (2021); The Feuilleton: I will bear witness, curated by Jo Melvin, Edicola Spoleto/ MACRO Museo, Roma (2021); Bye Bye His-Story, chapter 5050, curated by Emmanuel Lambion, Centre de la Gravure et de l'Image imprimée, La Louviére (2021); I Caught A Rat, We Caught Some Air, MÉLANGE, Düsseldorf (2018); The Changing Appearance, curated by Noor Mertens, Kunstverein Langenhagen, Langenhagen (2018); Discuţia Secretă, Festival of Literature, Arad (2018); BoxThree, MÉLANGE, Cologne (2018); Job Moves, Cinema Rex, Padova (2016); Imagine, Brand New Gallery, Milan (2016); Supernova, curated by Denis Isaia, MART/MAG Museo Dell’Alto Garda, Riva del Garda (2015); Italian and british artists meet Milan, The Workbench, Milan (2014); !Champagne!, BeatTricks, Milan (2015); Tokonoma, 光泉 Space, Tokyo (2014); Quotes from the Left Left Hand, curated by Andrea Bruciati, Galleria Massimodeluca, Mestre (2014); Play dice would be nice, Gaudel de Stampa, Paris (2012); The dark side of the moon, Jarach gallery, Venice (2012); Needed by things, Furnished space, London (2011); Evading Customs, Le Dictateur, Milano (2010); Lobby, Cell project space, London (2009); The object of the attack, curated by Vincent Honoré and Gaia Tedone, The David Roberts Art Foundation, London (2009); La meglio gioventu’, curated by Andrea Bruciati, GC.AC, Monfalcone (2009); Aumma aumma, Edinburgh Annuale, Edinburgh (2009); New italian epic, Brown project space, Milano (2009); Maninfesto scultura, Villa Manin, Passariano (2008); Mondriaan download, Biagiotti progetto arte, Firenze (2008); Soft Cell, GC.AC, galleria comunale d’arte contemporanea, Monfalcone (2008); Arrivi e Partenze, Mole vanvitelliana, Ancona (2008); L’immagine sottile, GC.AC, Monfalcone (2005); Scale down, Galerie Eva Hober, Paris (2006); No location relocation, curated by Michela Arfiero, Galleria Comunale Castel San Pietro, Bologna (2005); Issue n°1, curated by Michela Arfiero, Imprinting Area, Brescia (2003).

Books: Poetricks, published by Edition Taube, Munich / Zurich (2022); Glitterature, published by SABOT, Cluj-Napoca (2022); Fast One, published by Happy Potato Press, Berlin, (2019); Four little Pirelli tires, published by Editura Fractalia, Bucharest (2019); Spick and Spam, published by GUESSWHO?, Cluj-Napoca (2018).