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Angelo Pretolani was born in Genoa (Italy) 15 August 1953. He was educated at the local state high school specializing in Art and at the faculty of Humanities, University of Genoa, from which he graduated in Polish Language and Literature – thesis on Witold Gombrowicz. His art has always borne the hallmark of performing urgency, states of grace apt to determine expansion of the spirit into the search for the self. After the early production on the relationships between work and system of art (1973) – with some pieces exhibited in Rome, Italy (X Quadriennale, 1975) – the artist takes his performing events through (apparitions) “the identity of an impregnable and metaphorized ego: The Angel… a theatrical and at the same time alchemic figure” (G.Beringheli). Performances in Genoa, Italy (Teatro della Tosse, 1975; Galleria Unimedia, 1977), Milan, Italy (Luciano Inga-Pin, 1976; Out Off, 1979), Turin, Italy (Teatro Gobetti, 1977), Cavriago, Italy (II Festival Internazionale della Performance, curated by Rosanna Chiessi, 1978), Warsaw, Poland (Remont Gallery, 1979), Belgrade, Yugoslavia (Studentskog Kulturnog Centra, 1979), Bologna, Italy (Galleria d’Arte Moderna), Linz, Austria (Brückner Festival 1981). In 1980 he founds Centro Uh!; the intense work of the group – producing performances and musical events in the world of Art-rock up until March 1983 under this name – is all documented in the six issues of the magazine bearing the same name. In 1981 he composes Correnti fredde (Cold currents, musicperformance) in Rome for RAI Radio Uno, 1982 being the year of the series Boring Test, with Pretolani as co-writer and director. He is subsequently involved with emergine groups in experimental theatre (Magazzini Criminali, Gaia Scienza, Falso Movimento etc.) appearing in Nuovo Teatro (Limitrofie, Milan, Italy, 1983; Sussurri o grida, movimenti nel nuovo teatro italiano, Milan, Italy, 1984; Ingauni!, Albenga, Italy, 1984; XIX Festival di Santarcangelo di Romagna, Italy, 1989). Solo exhibitions in Genoa, Italy (Galleria R.Rotta, 1987, 1991, 1997; Museo di Villa Croce, 1995 -only videos; Galleria C.Gualco, 1998), Chiavari, Italy (Galleria C.Busi, 1989), Trieste (Juliet’s Room, 1989), Bologna, Italy (Galleria Spazia, 1995), Vienna, Austria (Galleria Lìcandro, 1996). In 1996 at Pinacoteca, Volterra (Italy) presentation of the performance Angelo a bordo (Angel on board), followed by participation in Allan Kaprow’s Just Doing (Genoa, Italy, Museo di Villa Croce, October 1998) and the exhibitions The Beginning, works on body language from 1962 to 1976, well before the birth of Body-art (Milan, Italy, Galleria L.Inga-Pin, January 1999), Work in progress/Natura Naturans 4 (Trieste, Italy, Teatro Miela, July-August 1999) and Il corpo rinato (Genoa, Italy, Galleria C.Gualco, February 2000). January 2001 and Pretolani exhibits at 1950-2000, Genoese and Ligurian Art from the collections of the Museum of Contemporary Art (Genoa, Italy, Museo di Villa Croce). 2003: University of Bologna (Department Visual Arts), Italy, invitation to “Art and new media”, course on videoart by Paola Barbara Sega. Trieste, ,Italy:” I am a producer of sense, not meanings”, video exhibition Teatro Miela and Spirit in the sky, performance, Galleria LipanjePuntin - organized by Maria Campitelli. 2004: The future of Performance Art (Odzaci, Serbia, Multimedial Art Studio), Crossing Genoa, contemporary international ways and languages (Genoa, Italy, Museo di Villa Croce) and the performance Time is no hurry by Lucio Pozzi (S.Andrea di Rovereto, Italy, Villa Solaria). 2005: on the occasion of the museum’s twentieth anniversary the performance Gloryhole (Genoa, Italy, Museo di Villa Croce). Bosco dei Poeti presentation of performance STOP (Dolcè, Italy, Bosco dei Poeti). Participation also in various videofestivals – Third International Film & Video Festival (Detroit, USA, Museum of New Art), Obsession, International AudioVideo Festival (Istanbul, Turkey, Galeri-X), PI-five, Video/short film festival (Szczecin, Poland, National Museum) and videoexhibition organized by Valerio Dehò (Kunst Merano Arte, Italy, Merano). 2006: No place for life, performance for “Specchio d’acqua” (Trieste, Italy, Canale di Ponterosso) and Studio V, performance for Avignon Festival Off (Avignon, France). 2007: No place for life, performance for 5th Art Action Festival (Monza, Italy, Villa Reale); Sestante, Performing painting (Rodigo, Italy, Villa Balestra; St.Hilaire-sur-Benaize, France, Maison Avril; Ala, Italy, Biblioteca Comunale). 2008: Performing painting (Genoa, Italy, Studio Ghiglione); Fall, performance (Genoa, Italy, Museo di Villa Croce). 2009: Fall, performance (Trieste, Italy, Miela Theatre).