Andrea Benetti, born in Bologna in 1964, is a multifaceted visual artist whose work spans a wide range of expressive languages, including painting, photography, drawing, installations, and video art. His artistic production is distinguished by its original reinterpretation of the deep connection between contemporary art and its ancestral origins, particularly those rooted in prehistory. In 2006, he conceived the Manifesto of Neo-Cave Art, which was officially presented in 2009 at the 53rd Venice Biennale, at Ca Foscari University. In this Manifesto, Benetti proposes a theoretical and visual reflection that advocates for an artistic "rebirth," ideally starting anew from the earliest forms of human expression in Prehistory, reimagined through a contemporary lens using an innovative and original symbolic language.

His works, characterized by the evocative use of natural pigments, spices, oxides, and stylized anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figures, along with abstract geometries, form a conceptual bridge between the origins of art and its present-day manifestations. This approach has enabled him to develop a distinctive visual poetics, capable of engaging with the collective memory of humanity while simultaneously responding to the aesthetic and conceptual demands of third-millennium art.

Andrea Benetti has exhibited in prestigious international venues, and his works have become part of major institutional and museum collections, including those of the United Nations (New York), the Vatican, the Quirinal Palace, and the Italian Chamber of Deputies. His work has been the subject of academic research and study by various Italian universities, such as those of Bologna, Ferrara, Bergamo, and Salento (Lecce), as well as through collaborations with other notable academic institutions, including the universities of Bari, Roma Tre, Messina, Venice, and the renowned Johns Hopkins University.

The recognition of his artistic stature is further affirmed by the inclusion of his biography in authoritative encyclopedias such as Treccani, De Agostini, and WikiArt, and by its presence in forty-five languages on Wikipedia - testament to his established international resonance. In 2020, he was awarded the “Nettuno d’Oro” Prize by the City of Bologna, in tribute to the significance and originality of his contribution to contemporary culture and to his standing as a leading figure in today’s artistic landscape.

State Art High School of Bologna

Academy of Fine Arts of Bologna

MUSEUMS AND COLLECTIONS

• United Nations Art Collection ∙ New York, U.S.A.
• Vatican Art Collection ∙ Vatican, Italy
• Virginia Commonwealth University ∙ Richmond, U.S.A.
• MACIA ∙ Italian Contemporary Art Museum in America ∙ San Jose, Costa Rica
• Argentine Ministry of Justice and Human Rights ∙ Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Rinaldi-Paladino Art Museum Foundation ∙ Lugano, Switzerland
• Copelouzos Family Art Museum Collection ∙ Athens, Greece
• Italian Embassy in China ∙ Beijing, China
• Italian Embassy in New Zealand ∙ Wellington, New Zealand

• Quirinale Art Collection ∙ Italian Presidency of the Republic ∙ Roma, Italy
• Montecitorio Palace ∙ Italian Parliament ∙ Chamber Of Deputies ∙ Roma, Italy
• Mambo ∙ Museum of Modern Art Bologna ∙ Bologna, Italy
• Museion ∙ Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Bolzano ∙ Bolzano, Italy
• CAMeC ∙ Center of Modern and Contemporary Art ∙ La Spezia, Italy
• Osvaldo Licini Contemporary Art Museum ∙ Ascoli Piceno, Italy
• University of Ferrara Art Collection ∙ Ferrara, Italy
• University of Bari Art Collection ∙ Bari, Italy
• Giacomo Casanova Foundation Art Collection ∙ Venice, Italy
• MuMi ∙ Michetti Museum ∙ Francavilla al Mare, Italy
• U.N.E.S.C.O. Art Collection ∙ Bologna, Italy
• Municipality of Lecce Art Collection ∙ Lecce, Italy
• Amedeo Modigliani Museum ∙ Follonica, Italy
• ARTinGENIO Museum ∙ Pisa, Italy
• Silvestro Lega Museum ∙ Modigliana, Italy
• Speleological Museum "Franco Anelli" ∙ Grotte di Castellana, Italy
• Contemporary Art Museum ∙ Logudoro Meilogu Foundation ∙ Banari, Italy

Participation in the LIII Venice Biennale for the presentation of the "Neo-Cave Art Manifesto", 2009[82][83]

Special participation in the LXI edition of the F. P. Michetti International Award, 2010[84][85]

Awarding of the International Excellence Award at the University of Bari, 2014[86][87]

Awarding of the Nettuno dOro Award, 2020