Carlo Vidoni was born in Udine on 7th December 1968. He studied art at the Art Institute Giovanni Sello in Udine, where he graduated in Graphics and Photography in 1987. Shortly after he held his first solo show in Tarcento, a city in the hills to the north of Udine where he now lives and works.
In the 1990s he went through a period of research and introspection. He felt that painting no longer satisfied his need for expression and started producing ceramic sculptures. He worked in the studios of the sculptor Luciano Ceschia and the painter Vittorio Basaglia, before opening his own studio-workshop in Cividale del Friuli.
In 1997 he graduated from the University of Udine in Contemporary Art History, and in 1998 he moved his studio to Tarcento. At this time he decided to live in Udine, and regularly met with a circle of young artists, benefiting from the constant opportunity to discuss and exchange ideas about art. These included artists such as Paolo Comuzzi and Lorenzo Missoni, and was where Vidoni met Beppino de Cesco, an artist he felt a great affinity with. During these years his work moved closer to Conceptual Art and Vidoni started to experiment with new materials such as synthetic resins.
In the year 2000, the art critic Angelo Bertani invited Vidoni to Hicetnunc, an important art event held in San Vito al Tagliamento. At the same time he started contributing to Perimmagine, a cultural magazine edited by Riccardo Toffoletti.
In 2007 he was selected as one of the winners at the ManinFesto – Fotografia in Friuli Venezia Giulia art competition at the Centre for Contemporary Art of Villa Manin, directed by Francesco Bonami.
During these years he took part in many exhibitions throughout Italy and started working with galleries such as Dieci.due! International research contemporary art in Milan, L’Église and Spazio Ferramenta Off in Turin.
His expressive language turned to the observation of nature and objects, one could almost say listening to them. These are objects that substantiate people’s daily actions or which imply events from everyday life. The objects are often found by the artist and then conserved until the artwork is made. In Vidoni’s installation work, objects lose their original function and become vessels, nests or supports, separated and de-contextualised from reality. They become symbols of the struggle of contemporary life, which are themselves unaware of it.
A keen observer of the contemporary social and cultural context, Vidoni is aware of the constant and reciprocal interaction of mankind and nature, and of the relentless defeat of the latter, which he explores in his artwork. His artistic research extends to many areas of expression, from experimental sculpture and installation, to photography and drawing.
Rafaella Loffreda
Associazione Culturale Venti d'arte 