VALERIO BERRUTI For me, art is essentially emotion and contamination

Valerio Berruti, an Italian artist born in Alba, Piedmont in 1977, graduated in art criticism from the D.A.M.S. of Turin. He lives and works in Verduno (CN) in a deconsecrated 17th-century church he restored. His career features numerous accolades, including winning the 2004 Celeste Prize and exhibiting at prestigious international venues such as the 53rd Venice Biennale, the Centre Pompidou, and exhibitions in Seoul, Tokyo, Paris, and New York. Known for installations, sculptures, and animations, he has collaborated with major composers like Ludovico Einaudi and Ryuichi Sakamoto. His projects often involve interactive, large-scale installations that engage the public.

Berruti’s art spans various media, from drawing to video art, and often delves into childhood innocence and nostalgia. His work has been exhibited worldwide, from solo shows in Seoul and Tokyo to major European cities. Among his notable projects are La Giostra di Nina (a film and installation backed by Sky Arte) and his humanitarian initiative in 2020, L’abbraccio più forte, raising funds for COVID-19 relief. His creations often fuse visual art with music, as demonstrated by collaborations with iconic musicians, and many of his works have become central pieces in public and cultural spaces across Italy and beyond.

Childhoods

– What are the biggest challenges you have met in your career?

Certainly when I was very young and I was called to exhibit at the Venice Biennale I felt particularly impressed, for the first time really aware that I was being observed by the rest of the world. And it happened to me for all the big museum exhibitions, like the recent one in China, or the making of the big sculpture “Alba” in my city.

I usually put myself on the line whenever I work on a new exhibition or project. That is why I do not have great performance anxieties, but at the same time I am perpetually challenging myself.

Over the rainbow_Nirox foundation, Sudafrica 2011

– How was your passion for art born?

My passion for art was born with me. I never thought of doing anything else in life, ever since I was very small and my classmates played soccer. My craft is my passion and my very life, so I am very lucky.

Alba – Ph. Letizia Cigliutti

– What is your main source of inspiration?

My favorite subject are human beings. My main subjects are always children who are actually a metaphor – a means and not an end – the perfect protagonists of a time when anything can still happen.

Frammenti – Monticello d’Alba – Ph. Tino Gerbaldo

– What does art mean to you?

For me, art is essentially emotion and contamination. I like to explore all possible techniques for this reason I go from fresco to video animation, from sculpture to the most essential drawing. I believe a lot in the exchange between different artistic fields and in art brought into less conventional contexts: only in this way can it reach everywhere, be free and really move anyone.

Valerio Berruti – Ph. Letizia Cigliutti