Maurizio Cattelan (ITALIAN, B. 1960)

Self-taught Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan is best known for his controversial sculpture and performance work. Born in 1960, he has a flippant approach to his art practice, which almost always employs wit and humour with dark undertones. Cattelan creates sculptures that mock the art system and even the artist himself. He is the best-known Italian artist to have emerged internationally in the 1990s. His work has featured in three editions of the Venice Biennial (1993; 1997; 1999) and in major venues worldwide, including The Museum of Modern Art, New York (1998), the Tate Gallery, London (1999), The MOCA, Los Angeles (2003) and the Galleria Civica di Arte Contemporanea Trento (2004). His works are part of some of the most important public and private collections worldwide such as: the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; The Dakis Joannou Collection, Athens; Fondation Pinault, Paris; Jumex Collection, Mexico City; Rubell Family Collection, Miami; Elaine Dannheisser Collection, New York; Gilles Fuchs Collection, Paris; Seattle Museum of Contemporary Art, Seattle; Migros Museum, Zurich; F.R.A.C., Languedoc-Roussillon; Fonds National d'Art Contemporain, Puteaux; F.R.A.C., Nord-Pas de Calais; The Israel Museum, Jerusalem; Castello di Rivoli, Turin; and Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin.