Paola Pivi

Born in Italy in 1971, and currently living in Hawai’i, Paola Pivi’s artistic practice is diverse and enigmatic. Commingling the familiar with the alien, Pivi often works with commonly identifiable objects which are modified to introduce a new scale, material or color, challenging the audience to change their point of view. Pivi has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions including at [mac], Musée d’art contemporain, Marseilles, France; The Andy Warhol Museum, Pennsylvania, USA; Arken Museum, Denmark; The Bass Museum Miami Beach, USA; Savannah College of Art and Design, USA; La Rinascente, Italy; Dallas Contemporary, USA; National Gallery of Victoria, Australia; Rockbund Art Museum, China; Public Art Fund New York, USA; Kunsthalle Basel, Switzerland, among others. Animals are often cast as protagonists in Pivi’s world. She draws upon their perceived characteristics and instills them with human mannerisms. In Pivi’s art, Polar bears practice yoga, hang from trapezes, and engage with one another. Sprouting multicolored feathers, the artworks are both life-sized and miniaturized as baby bears. Spanning sculpture, video, photography, performance and installation, Pivi’s practice trespasses perceived limits to make possible what before seemed impossible.