Post-Human Hallucination: merging artificial intelligence and oil painting in a repetitive and circular process to explore a new expanded ecology of visions. In Pietro Catarinella‘s work, the image is born from a hybridization: fragments of ancient works and personal paintings are introduced into artificial intelligence systems, generating mutant visions, fluid bodies, anatomies without borders. Printed on canvas, these hallucinations are then crossed by oil painting, in a gesture that does not correct but betrays, subverts, deepens. Between artificial and human, nature and artifice, Catarinella builds interior landscapes full of desire, disorientation and metamorphosis. Matter bends, memory dissolves: each work is the fragment of a post-human dream.
Pietro Catarinella lives and works in Milan.
An architect by training, he obtained a master’s degree in art photography from Central Saint Martins in London in 2014. It is during this period that he defined his artistic practice: a research of digital genesis that questions the changes in reality and visual representation in the era of the Internet, social networks and new media.
His works have recently been exhibited in important foundations and museums in Italy and abroad, including Zebrastaad / Foundation Liedts-Meesen, Ghent, Belgium (2025), Wuhan Art Museum Qintai, China (2024), Fondazione Francesco Fabbri, Pieve di Soligo, Italy (2022 and 2019), Baco, Base Arte Contemporanea Odierna, Bergamo, Italy (2021), Fondazione Pini, Milan, Italy (2020), Macro, Museo d’Arte Contemporanea di Roma, Italy (2019). He was a finalist for the following awards: NTAa ’25 – New Technological Art Award | Finalist (2025 – ongoing), Prisma Art Prize (2024), Francesco Fabbri Prize – Contemporary Photography (2022 and 2019), Lumen Prize (2019 and 2017), Ashurst Emerging Artist Prize (2018) and winner of the Ora Prize (2019).
PERSONAL EXHBITIONS
2025
Post-Human Hallucination | collaboation between Spaghetti Boost and MC2 Gallery | with a text by Claudio Composti | VM12 | Milan | Italy
2021
Imagomorphosis | Bi-personal exhibition with Iva Lulashi | with an essay by Mauro Zanchi | Prometeo Gallery Ida Pisani | Milan | Italy
Imagomorphosis | Bi-personal exhibition with Iva Lulashi | Concordia II | VIR Viafarini-in-residence & Prometeo Gallery Ida Pisani | Milan | Italy
2019
Cave of Forgotten Dreams | Macro, Contemporary Art Museum of Rome | Italy
Cover-up | Project Room | Macro, Contemporary Art Museum of Rome | Italy
Data Fall | Project Room within Interconnessione – capitolo II – Digressione, curated by O’dirk | Spazio Fico | Milan | Italy
2018
Internet Painting | Bi-personal exhibition with Matteo Vettorello | curated by Giulio Verago | VIR Viafarini-in-residence | Milan | Italy
Anatomies, Project Room within Prospettive dell’infrasottile curated by Butik Collective | The Others Art Fair – Specific | Turin | Italy
2015
(De)Construct – New Positions on Contemporary Photography from the UK | supported by the Lithuanian Council for Culture | organized and curated by Vanja Contemporary | AV17 Gallery | Vilnius | Lithuania
2014
Out of Rome | curated by Stéphane Verlet-Bottéro | Green Arcola Gallery | London | UK
SELECTED COLLECTIVE EXHIBITIONS
2025
NTAa ‘25 – New Technological Art Award – “Intelligence, it’s automatic: from surrealism to AI.” | finalist’s exhibition curated by Thierry Dufrêne | organized by Foundation Liedts-Meesen | Zebrastraat – Ghent | Belgium
2024
Layering the Gaze within Extension of Selves | organized and curated by Lumen Prize | sponsored by the Italian Cultural Institute of Bejiing | collective show including works by Fuse*, Fabio Giampietro, Mattia Casalegno, Matteo Zamagni | Wuhan Art Museum (Qintai) | China
2022
Premio Francesco Fabbri per le Arti Contemporanee 2022 | curated by Carlo Sala | Villa Brandolini (TV) | Italy
INTERFERENZE | NP Artlab (PD) | Italy
2021
Image Stream | collective show including works by Giulia Flavia Baczynski, Fabrizio Bellomo, Claudio Beorchia, Paolo Ciregia, Mario Cresci, Giorgio Di Noto, Discipula, Irene Fenara, Silvia Mariotti, Filippo Minelli, Simone Monsi, Maurizio Montagna, Caterina Morigi, Francesco Pozzato, Alessandro Sambini | curated by Sara Benaglia e Mauro Zanchi | Baco – Base Arte Contemporanea Odierna | Bergamo | Italy
2020
StudioVisit-30 artisti per 30 giorni | curated by Adrian Paci | Fondazione Adolfo Pini |Milan|Italy
2019
Premio Francesco Fabbri per le Arti Contemporanee 2019 | curated by Carlo Sala | Villa Brandolini (TV) | Italy
Dark New Age | curated by Spazio Gamma | Spazio Gamma | Milan | Italy
Viafarini DOCVA | curated by Giulio Verago | Fabbrica del Vapore | Milan | Italy
2018
Liminar Archive, site-specific installation within VIR Open Studio+Camouflage |VIR Viafarini-in-residence |Milan |Italy
Ashurst Emerging Artist Prize 2018 | finalists group exhibition | curated by Conrad Carvalho | Ashurst Emerging Artist Gallery |
London | UK
Ramificazioni Festival | curated by Simona Caramia | Castello di Squillace | Catanzaro | Italy
2017
Black Light Networks | Nadie, Nunca, Nada, No | Madrid | Spain
Galla Placidia 194 | curated by Shara Wasserman | Temple Gallery | Temple University Rome | Italy
Present & Future, just across the streets | curated by Marta Michelacci | Macro Future – Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome |Italy
Tiny Biennale | curated by Shara Wasserman | Temple Gallery | Temple University Rome | Italy
2015
PHOTOMASTERS – PHOTOMONTH, East London Photography Festival | Old Truman Brewery | London | UK
2014
Pingyao International Photography Festival (PIP) | Pingyao (Shanxi Province) | China
Layers, within PRINT/3 | Arcane Gallery | London | UK
Data Traffic, CSM Postgraduate Art Degree Show 2014 | K Space | London | UK
EDUCATION
2012 – 2014
UAL – Central Saint Martins, Ma Photography, London, UK
2010 – 2011
Scuola Romana di Fotografia, Reportage and Photojournalism, Rome, Italy
2003 – 2010
University of La Sapienza, BA and MA Architecture, Rome, Italy
ART RESIDENCIES
2019
Roccagloriosa residenza d’artista | Palazzo La Quercia | Roccagloriosa | Italy
DOCVA | Fabbrica del vapore | Milan | Italy
2018
VIR Viafarini-in-residence | Milan | Italy
2017
Intercambiador ACART | Madrid | Spain
AWARDS
2025
NTAa ‘25 – New Technological Art Award | Finalist (ongoing)
2024
Prisma Art Prize | Finalist
2022
Premio Francesco Fabbri – Contemporary Photography | Finalist
2019
Premio Ora | Winner
Premio Francesco Fabbri | Contemporary Photography | Finalist
Lumen Prize | Finalist
Arte Laguna Prize | Longlisted
2018
Ashurst Emerging Artist Prize | Finalist
2017
Lumen Prize | Finalist