Christian de Vietri

Christian de Vietri attended Hale School.[1] De Vietri completed a Bachelor of Fine Art at Curtin University in 2001 and an Honors Degree at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 2002.[2] He completed a Post-Diploma in Fine Art at the École Supérieure des Beaux Arts de Marseille in 2005.[3] De Vietri graduated from the Columbia University Master of Fine Art program in 2009.[4] During his MFA he was mentored by the artist Liam Gillick.[5] De Vietri studied Kashmir Śaivism under the tutelage of Christopher H. Wallis, Mark S.G. Dyczkowski, and Paul Muller-Ortega.[6] He learnt Haṭha Yoga of the Mahāsiddha tradition from Dharmabodhi Sarasvatī and was certified by him as a teacher in 2016.[7]

Several awards and grants have been bestowed upon de Vietri for his work as an artist. At age 23, he was the youngest artist to be nominated for the Australian National Sculpture Award.[8] In 2003 he was given the Citizen of the Year Award for his contribution to Visual Art in Australia.[9] Other awards include the Socrates Sculpture Park Fellowship 2009, Australia Council New Work Grant 2009, Columbia University Scholarship 2007–2009, Art&Australia Magazine Emerging Artist Award 2006, Melbourne Macquarie Bank Peoples Choice Award for the National Gallery of Australia National Sculpture Prize 2005, Arts Western Australia New Concepts Grant 2005, Australia Council New Work Grant 2005, Qantas Spirit of Youth Fine Art Award 2004, Nescafe Big Break Art Award 2004, The Hugh Child Memorial Award for Sculpture 2001, Vice Chancellor's List Award from Curtin University in 1999, 2000 and 2001.[10]

Prominent public commissions by de Vietri include:

• Between Heaven and Earth, Zhengzhou Grand Emporium, Zhengzhou China, 2018 (commissioned by ZhengHong Property)[11]
• Spanda, Elizabeth Quay, Perth Australia, 2016 (commissioned by the MRA)[12]
• Ascalon (with Marcus Canning), St Georges Cathedral, Perth Australia 2011 (commissioned by Mark Creasy)[13]
• The Gathering, Metrotech, New York, 2009 (commissioned by the Public Art Fund)[14]
• X, Socrates Sculpture Park, New York 2009 (commissioned by Socrates Sculpture Park)[15]

De Vietri's sculptures have been exhibited internationally at institutions such as Columbia University Wallach Gallery (New York),[16] National Gallery of Bulgaria (Sofia),[17] Art Gallery of New South Wales (Sydney),[18] Gallery of Modern Art (Brisbane),[19] TarraWarra Museum of Art (Healesville),[20] Museum of Contemporary Art (Sydney),[21] National Gallery of Australia (Canberra),[22] Institute of Contemporary Art (Perth).[23]

De Vietri's artworks have been acquired by several public collections including Art Gallery of New South Wales Collection (Sydney),[24] Emily Fisher Landau Collection (New York),[25] Axel Nordin Collection (Stockholm),[26] Aïshti Art Foundation (Beirut), Gallery of Modern Art Collection (Brisbane),[27] Kerry Stokes Collection (Perth),[28] John Curtin Gallery Collection (Perth), Curtin University Collection (Perth),[29] Artbank Collection (Melbourne), Art&Australia Collection.[30]

De Vietri worked as an assistant to the Directors of the Palais de Tokyo Site de Création Contemporaine, Jerome Sans and Nicholas Bourriaud, in Paris 2002 the opening year of the institution. Later in 2002, de Vietri acquired access to a seven-story hotel in Australia, and curated a one night exhibition of 50 artists within the premises, attended by over 2500 people.[31] De Vietri worked as a Sculpture Professor at Curtin University in Perth and as an assistant Sculpture Professor at Columbia University. Christian de Vietri produced the music video Brats (by the band Liars) directed by Ian Cheng.[32] Cheng's film This Papaya Tastes Perfect was based on the memory of an event witnessed by Cheng and de Vietri in New York.[33] In 2012/2013, Cheng and de Vietri co-wrote the script for a feature-length film.[34] De Vietri and his sculptures are featured in a documentary by Benjamin Joel Cran about Mark S.G. Dyczkowski.[35]

• Christian de Vietri Official Website