Federica Zianni
Rome, 1993Lives and works in Milan
Federica Zianni graduated in Sculpture from the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, where she returned in 2022 to teach Foundry Techniques. She currently holds a funded position in the artistic research PhD programme in Cultural Heritage and Creativity (Patrimonio culturale e Arte Contemporanea) at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Lecce.
Since 2018 she has taken part in major national prizes such as the Premio Combat, Premio Vittorio Viviani, Premio Comel, Premio di Scultura Gabbioneta and Premio di Scultura Fregellae. She has also taken part in GIFA (International Foundry Trade Fair) in Düsseldorf.
In 2021 she was a finalist for the Premio Cramum and the Exibart Prize, as well as for the Mediterranean Contemporary Art Prize and the Premio Artkeys. She was one of the artists in residence at VIR Viafarini-in-residence and took part in the In-Edita 2 artist residency, a project coordinated by Galerie Alberta Pane, Ikona Venezia and Marina Bastianello Gallery.
In 2022 she was a finalist for the Premio Arte organised by Cairo Editore, whose exhibition was held at Palazzo Reale in Milan. That same year she began work on her first monograph, published by Vanillaedizioni. She won the Special Prizes section of the 16th Arte Laguna Prize, which led to an artist residency at Fonderia Artistica Versiliese. She also showed her work for the first time at the 17th edition of ArtVerona and the 2nd edition of Roma Arte in Nuvola.
In 2023 she took part in the Re-Use hackathon (Role of Visual: Sculpture Art Creation in the Context of Sustainable Behaviour), a project cofunded by the European Union under the Creative Europe Programme, with partners including Sculpture Line, Area Creativa 42 and the Jan Koniarek Gallery. She was among the finalists of ARP Art Residency Project, promoted by Centro Luigi di Sarro. She exhibited for the first time at GASC, Galleria d'Arte Sacra dei Contemporanei in Milan, and won the 7th edition of Arcipelago, through which one of her works entered the collection of the Fondazione Rocca dei Bentivoglio. That same year she was a lecturer at the 2023 International Sculpture Camp at Huafan University in Taiwan, an intercultural and interdisciplinary event with talks and workshops by artists from all over the world.
In 2024 she was artist in residence at Villa Greppi and won the call Note ai margini: visioni, sottolineature e riflessioni sul paesaggio, curated by Associazione Luminanda, for which she created a public sculpture for the municipality of Tremezzina (Como). She also won IMMAGINA, the first edition of the prize launched by Gruppo MAG, a historic insurance broker, for an artwork interpreting the company's values and identity. The award ceremony was held at MAXXI.
Between 2024 and 2025 she attended the Master's programme in Digital Marketing, Communication and Social Media Management at UNINFORM GROUP, which led her to start a parallel career in social media and digital marketing. She also attended Generative Heritage: strumenti e competenze per valorizzare il patrimonio culturale con l'intelligenza artificiale, a project promoted by Fondazione Fitzcarraldo and Sineglossa with the support of Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo.
In 2025 she was a finalist for the Premio Nocivelli and took part in Da Quassù, an artist residency on Monte Stivo. She also won the 10th edition of the Premio di Scultura Gabbioneta, promoted by Trillium Pumps Italy.
In 2026 she presented the outcome of the Da Quassù residency at Habitat83, took part in Art Rotterdam, and was artist in residence at Manifatture Knos in Lecce and then in China at the Taoxichuan International Studio. Her work was shown at Volandia, Parco e Museo del Volo, and at the Musei Civici di Perugia in a group exhibition marking the eighth centenary of the death of Saint Francis of Assisi. Finally, she exhibited in China at the Wumu Ruoyinxuan gallery in Zhongshan.
Awards
2025
Gabbioneta Sculpture Prize winner, 10th edition, promoted by Trillium Pumps Italy
2024
IMMAGINA winner, a prize promoted by Gruppo MAG SpA
Note ai margini - visioni sottolineature e riflessioni sul paesaggio winner, curated by Associazione Luminanda, for a public sculpture in Tremezzina (CO)
2023
Arcipelago, 7th edizion winner
2022
Weir Gabbioneta Sculpture Prize Honorable Mention
Arte Laguna Prize 16, Art Residency at Fonderia Artistica Versiliese Special
Prize winner
MArtelive Special Prize winner
2021
We Art Open 2021 winner
2020
Arts in Rome winner
Fregellae Prize 2nd award winner
2019
Rospigliosi Prize winner
PRS Talent Prize winner
2018
Premio Comel Honorable Mention 2018
Solo exhibitions
2026
Somiglianza per contatto, curated by Rossella Tricarico, Spazio Morsetto, Manifatture Knos, Lecce, Italy
2025
Zianni-Bianchi, curated by Francesco De Molfetta, Rachele Bianchi Archive, Milan, Italy
2024
IMMAGINA, an award conceived by Gruppo MAG SpA, curated by Brigida Mascitti, MAXXI Museum, Rome, Italy
Barren Forest, curated by Simona Bartolena, Villa Greppi, Monticello Brianza (LC), Italy
2023
In-Caute Trame, curated by Roberta Tosi, galleria SpazioCima, Rome, Italy Intersectiones, curated by Maria Laura Perilli, Galleria Triphè, Rome, Italy
2022
Paradoxa, Manuel Zoia Gallery, curated by Alessandra Sebastiano, Milan, Italy
2020
Natura, Nature, Galleria Triphè, curated by Maria Laura Perilli, Rome, Italy
2019
Silenzio come contatto, Fondazione Passarè, curated by Giulio Calegari, Milan, Italy
Residences
2026
Taoxichuan International Art Center, Jingdezhen, China
Spazio Morsetto, curated by Rossella Tricarico, Manifatture Knos, Lecce, Italy
2025
Da Quassù. Artist residency on Mount Stivo, artistic direction by In Habitat APS, Municipality of Arco (TN)
Tenuta Rasocolmo, curated by Mariateresa Zagone, Messina, Italy
2024
Nahr, Fire: Renewal, rituals, power. Curated by Gabi Scardi, Sottochiesa, Bergamo, Italy
Villa Greppi, bimestral progect of art residency, supported by dal Consorzio Brianteo Villa Greppi, Villa di Monticello, Brianza, Italy
2022
Extrartis: Artists Residencies for Creative Economy, at Relais Villa La Rupe, Sorrento, Italy
Fonderia Artistica Versiliese, Arte Laguna Prize 16, Art Residency at Fonderia Artistica Versiliese Special Prize, Lucca, Italy
Domus Artist Residency_in residence, Galatina, (LE), Italy
Land Art al Furlo – Terra d’arte e di musica, curated by Casa degli Artisti, Sant’Anna del Furlo, (PU), Italy
2021-2022
VIR Viafarini-in-residence, curated by Giulio Verago, Milan, Italy 2021, In-Edita 2, project coordinated by Galerie Alberta Pane, IKONA VENEZIA and Marina Bastianello Gallery, Forte Marghera, Venice, Italy
2020
Siamo tessuto, trame connesse, exhibition film, 12 artists in dialogue in the Valle dei Templi in Agrigento, Italy, artists residence in house (because of COVID 19) curated by Rossana Danile.
2019
Art Residency program World of Co, Sofia, Bulgaria
Visibile invisibile, curated by L’Avugì Eventi, Palazzo Rospigliosi, Zagarolo, (RM), Italy
NoMore Half Season, mentor artist Valerio Marazzi, LUISS Hub, Milan, Italy
Collective exhibitions
2026
Absence | L'assenza, curated by Huang Guzi, Wumu Ruoyinxuan, Zhongshan, China Il nero e il bianco, curated by Simona Bartolena, Casa del custode delle acque, Vaprio d'Adda (Milan), Italy Francesco mi farei tagliare i capelli per te?, curated by Roberta Tosi, Villa del Colle del Cardinale, Perugia, Italy Da Quassù, 4th edition, curated by Sebastiano Casella, an In-habitat project, Habitat83, Verona, Italy
2025
POP UP, a cura di Raffaella de Chirico, Venegas International Group Gallery, Milano, Italy Premio Nocivelli, XVI edizione, Rocca di Lonato (BS), Italy Frammenti di piante, di cose, di mondo, a cura di Giovanni Scucces, Sacca Gallery, Modica, Italy Da Quassù, IV edizione, a cura di Sebastiano Casella, progetto di Habitat83, Rifugio Marchetti Stivo (TN) , Italy Dal femminile al plurale, Villa Bagatti Valsecchi, with Manuel Zoia Gallery, Varedo (MB), Italy Frammenti. Di piante, di cose, di mondo. La natura morta nell'arte contemporanea, curated by Mariateresa Zagone, Villa Contemporanea Gallery, Monza (MB), Italy
2024
Back and Forth, Raffaella de Chirico Gallery, Milan, Italy Collezione Biagi, curated by Francesco Finotti, Galleria Faroarte, Ravenna, Italy Magnetik Zone, curated by Antonio Sammartano, Magazzini dell’arte Contemporanea, Trapani, Italy Mellone Art Prize, Atomic Art, curated by Fondazione Villoresi Poggi, National Museum of Science and Technology of Milan, Italy
Note ai margini. Visioni, sottolineature e riflessioni sul paesaggio, diffuse exhibition curated by Luminanda, municipality of Tremezzina (CO), Italy
2023
Non sei sola, curated by City Art, sponsored by the Municipality of Milan, site specific installation, Parco Trotter, Milan, Italy Art, Architecture and Landscape, curated by Francesca Ciampa, organised by Extrartis, Artists Residencies for Creative Economy, Capri, Italy Cantautori di Frontiera, curated by Associazione Heart, Theather Binario 7, Monza, Italy Verde contemporaneo, curated by Monica Villa, Villa Contemporanea (VA), Italy
Arcipelago. Nessuno è veramente un’isola, 7° edizion, curated by Francesco Finotti and Sandro Malossini, Rocca dei Bentivoglio Fondation, Valsamoggia (BO), Lorenzo Balbi in the jury Innesti, curated by Luigi Codemo, with Isorropia Home Gallery, GASC – Galleria D’arte Sacra Dei Contemporanei, Milan, Italy
Contemporanea Prize, curated by Spazio Hangar, Palazzo Ducale Orsini-Colonna, Tagliacozzo (AQ), Italy Io Sono Radice#2023, curated by Marilena Morabito and Floriana Spanò, two installations at San Bernardino Palace and Museum of Liquorice Giorgio Amarelli , Rossano, Italy Premio Luigi Candiani, category Young Artists, SAC-Spazio Arte Contemporanea, Robecchetto con Induno (MI), Italy Play_Act. Arte per comunità in transizione: Patto di cura per le città, curated by the Department of Architecture of the University of Naples Federico II, Palazzo Gravina, Naples, Italy Gabbioneta International Sculpture Prize 2023, promoted by Trillium Pumps Italy - Gabbioneta Pumps Library of Contemporary Art Guido Ballo, Brera Academy of Fine Arts, Milan, Italy
2022
Vittorio Viviani Prize, curated by Libera Accademia di Pittura of Nova Milanese, Villa Brivio, (MI), Italy Arte Prize, curated by Cairo Editore, Palazzo Reale, Milan, Italy Alle Ortiche Festival, curated by Alle Ortiche Hub, Serre di San Nicola, Genoa, Italy It's time, curated by Galleria Vittoria, Galeria Stara Prochownia, Warsaw, Poland Land Art al Furlo – Terra d’arte e di musica, curated by Casa degli Artisti, Sant’Anna del Furlo, (PU), Italy Lezione aperta, curated by Marcella Vanzo, supported by Zona K, Gabi Scardi, Paola Clerico and Matteo Bergamini, Milan, Italy
Visione (S)velate, VIR Viafarini-in-residence, curated by Elena Bray, Milan, Italy Premio Daniele Semprebene, curated by Nadia di Mastropietro, ART G.A.P Gallery, Rome, taly
Female Gaze, curated by Rubina Postiglione, Galleria Medina, Rome, Italy
Viafarini Open Studio, VIR Viafarini-in-residence, curated by Giulio Verago, Milan, Italy
2021
In-edita 2, Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa, project coordinated by Galerie Alberta, IKONA VENEZIA and Marina Bastianello
Viafarini Open Studio, VIR Viafarini-in-residence, curated by Giulio Verago, Milan, Italy Artkeys Prize, Angioino – Aragonese Castle, Agropoli (SA), Italy See you tomorrow, curated by the curatorial collective a.topos, Palazzo Donà Brusa, Venice, Italy Lasciare il segno, Galleria 28, curated by Mariella Filippi, Luino (VA), Italy Chaos/Kosmos, Santa Maria in Campitelli, curated by Paulina Grubiak, Rome, Italy Mediterranean Contemporary Art Prize, curated by Donato Faruolo, Genzano di Lucania (PZ), Italy Cramum Prize, Villa Mirabello, curated by Sabino Maria Frassà, Milan, Italy Fregellae Prize, Middle Ages Tower, curated by Ilaria Monti, Ceprano (FR), Italy Miscellanea, curated by Galleria Vittoria, Roma Smistamento, Rome, Italy Chaos/ Cosmos, curated by Paulina Grubiak, Galeria Elektor, Warsaw. Poland
Mellone Art prize, curated by di Manuel Zoia, Fondazione Dario Mellone, Busto Garolfo (MI), Italy
2020
Fregellae Sculpture Prize, archeological park of Fregellae, Ceprano (FR), Italy Air Land 3.0 INSIDE LAND, association Quasi Quadro, Barge, (CN), Italy
Arts in Rome Prize, gallery Spazio Cima, Rome, Italy #DomaniInArte, Galleria d’Arte Moderna di Roma Capitale, promoted by Assessorato alla Crescita culturale - Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali, Rome, Italy
Weir Gabbioneta Award, Museo Studio Francesco Messina, Milan, curated by Angela Madesani, Italy
MalamegiLab 15 Art Prize, Malamegi, Udine, Italy
2019
Artrooms Awards, curated by Cristina Antonini Cellini, London, United Kingdom Localities, curated by World of Co, Sofia, Bulgaria Cortemilia in mostra, curated by Valeria Guglielmi, Cortemilia, Cuneo, Italy On Stage Project, curated by Roberta Melasecca, Esponceda Center for Art and Culture, Barcelona, Spain GIFA, International Foundry Trade Fair, curated by Amafond, Düsseldorf, Germany Rospigliosi Art Prize, “Visibile Invisibile”, 2nd edition, Palazzo Rospigliosi, Rome, Italy
2018
Vittorio Viviani Prize, Libera Accademia di Pittura Vittorio Viviani, Nova Milanese (MI)
Comel Prize Vanna Migliorin, Spazio Comel Arte Contemporanea Gallery, Latina, Italy
Combat Prize, Villa del Presidente, Livorno, curated by Paolo Batoni, Italy 2017
Mixed pickles, collective exhibition of artists from eight european nations, Hochschule für Bildende Künste, curated by Susanne Greinke, Dresden, Germany 2016
Elettricamente, collective exhibition born from the interaction between creative perceptions and electric energy, Museo della Tecnica Elettrica, Pavia, Italy
2015
L’invisibile si mostra, collective exhibition with Arnaldo Pomodoro, projects commissioned by Gruppo Bianchi with the employment of NSK materials, National Museum of Science and Technology of Milan, curated by Marco Meneguzzo, Italy
Art Fairs
2026
Art Rotterdam 2026 and UnseenPhoto, rapresented by Raffaella de Chirico Gallery, Rotterdam (Olanda)
2025 MIA Photo Fair
represented by Raffaella De Chirico Gallery in the Beyond Photography section curated by Domenico De Chirico, with the project
Unseen Battlefields. First Part, SuperstudioPiù, Milan, Italy
2024
(Un)fair, represented by Manuel Zoia Gallery, Superstudio Maxi, Milan, Italy
One Art Taipei, represented by Lin Art Project Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan
Booming Contemporary Art Show, artistic director Simona Gavioli, DumBO - Binario Centrale, Bologna, Italy
2023
Booming Contemporary Art Show, artistic director Simona Gavioli, DumBO – Binario Centrale, Bologna, Italy
2022
Roma Arte in Nuvola, 2nd edition, curated by Adriana Polveroni, artistic director Alessandro Nicosia, represented by Manuel Zoia Gallery
ArtVerona, 17th edition, artistic director Stefano Raimondi, represented by Manuel Zoia Gallery
2018, Artrooms Fair Roma, The Church Palace, Rome, curated by Cristina Cellini Antonioni, Chiara Canal and Francesco Fanelli, Italy