Artist & Filmmaker · born in Barletta, Italy · Based in Berlin & Rome

Works in film and multi-screen video installation, in long-term research between documentary and constructed narrative. His practice is built on immersion with communities shaped by displacement, forms of intolerance and human rights violations, and exclusion. Films resist reportage, building meaning from within the relationship with subjects. Documents, testimonies, oral narratives form a counter-archive making visible what official records exclude. Language, its suppression and oral survival, is a recurring material.

www.mariorizzi.com mariorizzi@gmail.com +49 172 8814001 · +39 327 9484830

Selected Awards —

2025
Ebru Timtik Award — Selected ArtistUniversité Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium
2022
Premio Gallarate, XXVI EdizioneMAGA Museo d'Arte Gallarate, Italy
2018
Italian Council AwardItalian Ministry of Culture & Centro per l'Arte Contemporanea Pecci, Italy
2012
Production Program AwardSharjah Art Foundation, UAE
2005
Best Artist Prize — 7th Sharjah BiennialSharjah Art Foundation, UAE
2004
The Mulliqi Best Artist PrizeKosova Art Gallery, Pristina, Kosovo/UNMIK

Solo Exhibitions —

2026
La Sedia VuotaOspedale Santi Cosma e Damiano, Pescia, ItalyPermanent installation
2022
Exercices d'empathieAnalix Forever, Geneva, Switzerland
2022
Mario Rizzi. A traveler with a cameraMAXXI Museo Nazionale Arti del XXI Secolo, Rome, Italy
2022
Film Trilogy BaytBerlinische Galerie, Berlin, Germany
2019
بيت BaytCentro per l'Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Prato, Italy
2019
My Dear LamisDar El-Nimer for Arts and Culture, Beirut, Lebanon
2017
Bare LivesGalerie Wedding, Berlin, Germany
2015
Al Intithar — L'AttesaGalleria Studio Stefania Miscetti, Rome, Italy
2013
KaragözGalleria Gagliardi, Turin, Italy
2013
The WaitingVilla Romana, Florence, Italy
2011
Partial TruthsPodbielski Contemporary, Berlin, Germany
2010
La vie est à nousAnalix Forever, Geneva, Switzerland
2008
Murat ve IsmailKerava Art Museum, Kerava, Finland
2004
The Sofa of JungMART Museo Arte Contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto, Italy
2002
Drafting MoodsDiana Stigter Galerie, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2001
Seven Finnish IdentitiesHelsinki Art Museum, Helsinki, Finland

Group Exhibitions —

2025
The Library of PalimpsestsSankt Studio, Berlin, Germany
2024
Luce sulla CittàPiazza Tasso, Florence, Italy
2024
UnhealedModerna Museet, Malmö, Sweden
2024
an ecology of imagesAnalix Forever, Geneva, Switzerland
2024
In the eyes of our present, we hear PalestineSheikh Khalid Bin Mohammed Arts Palace, Al Dhaid, Sharjah, UAE
2023
Fuori TuttoMAXXI Museo Nazionale Arti del XXI Secolo, Rome, Italy
2023
Ce que la Palestine apporte au mondeInstitut du Monde Arabe, Paris, France
2023
6th Berlin Herbstsalon — GEZI TEN YEARS AFTERGorki Theater, Berlin, Germany
2023
Palestinian Nakba 75P21 Gallery, London, UK
2022
Sunbird Documentary Film Award — 9th Palestine Cinema DaysRamallah, Palestine
2022
14th ManifestaCentre of Narrative Practice Screening Space, Prishtina, Kosovo
2022
Screens. Culture dello schermo e immagini in movimentoMAGA Museo d'Arte Gallarate, Italy
2022
Reinvention and Restlessness: Fashion in the NinetiesThe Museum at FIT, New York, USA
2021
39th EVA International – Ireland's BiennialCity Gallery of Art, Limerick, Ireland
2021
1st Helsinki BiennialHelsinki Art Museum & Vallisaari Island, Helsinki, Finland
2021
BlocksReal Albergo delle Povere, Palermo, Italy
2021
Babies are knockingGalleria Studio Stefania Miscetti, Rome, Italy
2020
Art is always publicVilla Romana, Florence, Italy
2019
Moving WomenMagda Danysz Galerie, Paris, France
2018
Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation Residents 2017–2018Tokyo Arts and Space, Tokyo, Japan
2017
The Absence of PathsTunisian Pavilion at the 57th Venice Biennale, Italy
2017
Artapes #1. Walking Around the ClockMAXXI Museo Nazionale Arti XXI Secolo, Rome, Italy
2017
#resistGoethe Gallery, Hong Kong, China
2016
When Home Won't Let You StayUniv. Applied Arts, Vienna, Austria
2016
We Refugees – Of the Right to Have RightsBadischer Kunstverein, Karlsruhe, Germany
2015
Istanbul. Passion, Joy, FuryMAXXI Museo Nazionale Arti del XXI Secolo, Rome, Italy
2015
Too Early Too LatePinacoteca Nazionale, Bologna, Italy
2014
Open Museum Open CityMAXXI Museo Nazionale Arti del XXI Secolo, Rome, Italy
2014
Where are the Arabs?VW Dome, MoMA PS1, New York, USA
2013
63rd Berlinale Shorts Official CompetitionBerlinale, Berlin, Germany
2013
Signs Taken in WonderMAK Wien + Kunstverein Hannover
2012
In Spite of it AllSharjah Art Foundation, UAE
2012
Parco NomadePadiglione Italia, 13th Architecture Biennale, Venice, Italy
2008
6th Taipei BiennialTaipei Fine Arts Museum, Taiwan
2008
Be(com)ing DutchVan Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
2008
58th Berlinale Shorts Official CompetitionBerlinale, Berlin, Germany
2007
This DayTate Modern, London, UK
2007
4th Göteborg International BiennialRöda Sten, Göteborg, Sweden
2005
9th Istanbul BiennialAntrepo Warehouse no. 5, Istanbul, Turkey
2005
7th Sharjah BiennialSharjah Art Foundation, UAE
2004
14th Sydney BiennaleMuseum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, Australia
2003
1st Prague BiennialNational Gallery, Prague, Czech Republic
2002
ExitFondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin, Italy
2001
The GiftPalazzo delle Papesse, Siena, Italy

Film Screenings —

2025
KautherInternational Fair Trial Day, Bruxelles, Belgium
2023
The Little LanternAl Ma'mal Foundation, Jerusalem, Palestine
2023
Anni, Kauther, EkhlasFondazione Fulvio Croce, Turin, Italy
2017
Videoart at Midnight #88BABYLON Film Theatre, Berlin, Germany
2014
Al IntitharSALT Beyoğlu, Istanbul, Turkey
2013
L'attentePalais des Arts, Marseille, France
2007
Modern Mondays: Mario RizziMuseum of Modern Art, New York, USA

Curated Exhibitions —

2025
OLTREAcademy of Fine Arts of Rome, Aula ColleoniWith brochure
2004
PLUG INFutura Gallery, Prague, Czech RepublicWith catalogue

Art Collections —

MoMA – Museum of Modern Art, New York MAXXI Museo Nazionale Arti del XXI Secolo, Rome Centro per l'Arte Contemporanea Pecci, Prato Helsinki Art Museum, Helsinki Sharjah Art Foundation, UAE Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris Musée Réattu, Arles Musée de l'Elysée, Lausanne

Academic —

Appointments

2025
"Il viaggio come percorso artistico e introspettivo"Academy of Fine Arts of Rome, Italy — Department of Contemporary Art History, Spring Semester
2012
Course on Contemporary ArtChung Hwa International Art School, Muar, Malaysia — Spring Semester

Theses Focusing on My Artwork

2021
Angelica Zucconi, "The trilogy BAYT by Mario Rizzi: analysis of the films and of the language of the artist"B.A. Thesis, University of Pisa, Italy
2005
Elena Keidan, "Mario Rizzi e l'estetica relazionale"B.A. Thesis, Brera Academy of Fine Art, Milan, Italy

Residencies & Honors —

2019
Structures of Displacement — Symposium and ScreeningsUniversity of Applied Arts, Vienna, Austria
2017
Tokyo Arts and Space Residency ProgramTokyo Arts and Space, Tokyo, Japan
2016
Jury Member — 4th Duhok International Film FestivalDuhok, Iraqi Kurdistan
2016
Jury Member — 27th Ankara International Film FestivalAnkara, Turkey
2015
Artist ResidencyFondazione Jorio Vivarelli, Pistoia, Italy
2011
National Center for Contemporary Arts — Studio ProgramSaint Petersburg, Russia
2010
The Fund for the 21st Century — Permanent CollectionMoMA, New York, USA
2006
Al Ma'mal Foundation — Studio ProgramAl Ma'mal Foundation, Jerusalem, Palestine
2005
Cité Internationale des Arts — Studio ProgramCité Internationale des Arts, Paris, France
2002
Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunst — Artist ResidencyAmsterdam, The Netherlands
2001
Internationales AtelierprogrammKünstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, Germany

Selected Bibliography —

Emanuele Cutsodontis, L'ospedale a misura di paziente. La Nazione, 12.04.2026

Manuela De Leonardis, Viaggi straordinari. Mario Rizzi in Giappone. exibart, 5.08.2024

Neema Vitali, «une écologie des images» au cœur de l'Histoire. Art Critique, 3.04.2024

Luisa Franzini, "Stories make us": Raccontare la Palestina. In: "Deportate, Esuli, Profughe", Università Ca' Foscari Venice, September 2024

Yasmin Khan, 75 Years After the Palestinian Nakba. HYPERALLERGIC, 15.05.2023

Elena Bordignon, FOCUS sulla mostra Screens. ATP DIARY, 21.09.2022

Jean-Paul Gavard-Perret, Mario Rizzi le féministe. Les Blogs – De l'art helvétique contemporain, 20.09.2022

Chiara Bontacchio, Con le mie opere cerco di dare voce alla marginalità. Berlino Magazine, Jan–Feb 2022

Hanno Rehlinger, Die Andere. Der Tagesspiegel, 9.01.2022

Hamid Dabashi, Anni Kanafani Lives Here. In: "BAYT", NERO Editions, 2022, pp 56–62

Stephanie Bailey, Portraits Of Bayt. In: "BAYT", NERO Editions, 2022, pp 74–81

Isin Önol, Conditions Of Objection. In: "BAYT", NERO Editions, 2022, pp 102–109

Simone Frangi, (Un)Certain Assessment. In: "BAYT", NERO Editions, 2022, pp 116–121

Sabrina Vedovotto, Racconti da lontano. Telescope – Quidmagazine, 15.03.2020

Manuela De Leonardis, Fiabe a Burj el Barajneh. Alias – Il Manifesto, 13.4.2019

Jonas Tinius, The privilege of life itself. In: "Bare Lives", Archive Books, 2017, pp 68–75

Hamid Dabashi, Sacred Souls, Bare Lives. In: "Bare Lives", Archive Books, 2017, pp 5–11

Cristiana Perrella, The Outsider. Ibraaz.org, 30.6.2016

Sabine Weier, Migrant Identities After the Global Crisis. Camera Austria, #134/2016, pp 84–85

Ida Panicelli, Mario Rizzi at Studio Stefania Miscetti. Critics' Picks. Artforum.com, December 2015

Cristiana Perrella, La Primavera araba in un film. Artribune.com, 9.12.2015

Tilman Spreckelsen. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 16.11.2015

Dorothea Schoene, A State of Exception. Ibraaz.org, 8.5.2013

Igal Avidan, Das lange Warten auf den Frieden. Zeit.de, 11.2.2013

Simon Rees, 6th Taipei Biennial. Frieze, #120, pp 147–148

Dmitry Golynko, The Ethics of Human Biographies. Arterritory.com, January 2012

Sabine Vogel, International Istanbul Biennial. Critics' Picks. Artforum.com, October 2005

Isabel Carlos, Beyond Self-Expression. In: "Mario Rizzi 96_04", Skira, 2004, pp 25–32

Lilly Wei, South by Southeast. Art in America, #11, pp 58–65

Christian Rattemeyer, Biennale of Sydney. Artforum, Vol. 43, #3, pp 238–239

Bruno Latour, Résidents. Editions du Panama, 2007, pp 192–195

Charles Esche, Murat ve Ismail. In: "9th International Istanbul Biennial", Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts, 2005, pp 141–144

Katerina Gregos, Mario Rizzi. Contemporary, #86, pp 54–55

Michele Robecchi, Mario Rizzi. Flash Art Italy, Vol. XXXIX, #255, pp 68–71