Absa Art Hot Spot
Empowering African fine arts
Meet the artists
Marco Cianfenelli
Artist Bio
After graduating with distinction from the Department of Fine Arts at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, Marco Cianfanelli acted as part-time lecturer in Design at the Parktown College for Vocational Education. Shortly after he launched into a full-time career as an artist.
His interests lie within looking at the possibilities of selected artistic interventions within the public realm, which involves other professionals from diverse fields such as artists, designers, architects and engineers. He is presently involved as member of the design team for The Freedom Park Project in Pretoria, South Africa.
Cianfanelli has been awarded several major residencies abroad and he has exhibited widely in South Africa, as well as abroad. He also won the Absa L’Atelier competition in 2002, which offered him the opportunity a residency in Paris.
Some of his exhibition in South Africa include the 2009 Contemporary sculpture in the landscape, which was hosted by The Nirox Foundation in Johannesburg, as well as the 2008 exhibition presented by the Unisa Art Gallery in Pretoria titled Interventions.
Cianfanelli has acted as a Regional Judge for the Absa L’Atelier Competition and in 2008 he was a selected Judge for the Sasol Wax Art Competition from 2006 until 2009. He also acted as Art Adviser for the Sasol Art Collection.
Some of his local commissions include work for the Pieter Roos Park in Hillbrow, Johannesburg, the University of Johannesburg, the Durban International Conference Centre in Durban, Tokara Wine Estate in Stellenbosch, as well as Absa.