Sidival Fila, Franciscan friar minor, artist and President of the philanthropic foundation that carries his name, roots his artistic research on disused materials, mostly fabrics, including linen, cotton, silk, hemp, brocade, and other used materials. His idea is to free the object from its “material” condition and give it the possibility to express itself. In short, starting from the fabric functionality, Sidival Fila manages to make it useless in an unusual way, freeing it from its condition. His aesthetic journey is a constant quest for the contact with the matter, and his art aims at giving it back its “voice.” The artwork gives the matter the chance to tell us its past, a past that is often made of centuries of history.
Main shows and exhibits
2023 - "(RE)VERSVS. REUSE AND REDEMPTION IN THE HERITAGE OF THE VATICAN APOSTOLIC LIBRARY AND IN THE ART OF SIDIVAL FILA" @Vatican Apostolic Library, 28 April - 15 July 2023 - Rome (Italy)
2023 - "Artificial Nature" International Contemporary Art Fair ARCOLisboa, 25-28 May - Lisboa (Spain)
2021 – 2022 “Tessere la vita” @Fondazione Raccolta Lercaro, 23 October 2021 - 30 January 2022 - Bologna (Italy).
2021 “Sidival Fila” @ Casa Museo Can Marquès, Galleria Barò, Church of Sant Antoniet, 2 September - 3 October - Palma de Mallorca (Spain)
2019 – “Amazonia” (show only) @ ART BASEL Miami (Miami Beach - United States of America) 4 - 8 December 2019
2019 – “La materia svelata” @ Fondazione Cerasi - Palazzo Merulana - 6 September - 5 October 2019 - Rome (Italy)
2019, 11 May - 24 November - BIENNALE D'ARTE DI VENEZIA (Venezia pavilion) - Venice, Italy
2018 “Sidival Fila – Prospettive Relative” - on the occasion of “Festival della Filosofia” @ Gallerie Estensi | Palazzo Ducale di Sassuolo | Piazzale della Rosa (Sassuolo, MO – Italy) – 15 September - 4 November 2018
2018 “Sidival Fila: Il filo della grazia” @ Galleria San Fedele (Milan, Italy, 21 February - 4 April) 2017 – Sankt Peter Kunst-Station (Cologne, Germany, 5 May - 9 July 2017)
2016 - DRÔLES DE TRAMES ! - (a dialogue with different artists, including Dan Flavin, Sheila Hicks, Sol LeWitt, François Morellet), Le Fresnoy (France) – Studio national des arts contemporains (4
March - 8 May, 2016).
2015 – TrasFormAzione – (with Yves Klein and Tito), Rome – Museo Carlo Bilotti – Aranciera di Villa Borghese (8 July - 11 October 2015)
2012 Ex GIL, Rome, personal exhibit with the patronage of the Lazio Region
2009 Gubbio, Palazzo dei Consoli (city museum)
2009 Montecarlo - Helen Pastor gallery
2006 Frascati (Rome), Convento San Bonaventura
Sidival Fila’s art was displayed in different personal exhibits, both in France and in Spain, and in international fairs, including: Arco Madrid, Fiac Paris, Art Basel Miami, ArtBO Bogota.
His pieces can be found in private collections and foundations in several countries in the world. His work is also included in the permanent collection of modern and contemporary art of the Vatican
Museums.
