Curriculum
COLLABORATIONS
Maddox Gallery, London (UK), Los Angeles (USA), Gstaad (CH)
Russo Gallery, Roma (Italy)
Belvedere Art Space, Beirut (Lebanon)
Macek Gallery, Miami (USA)
Cadogan Contemporary, London (UK)
Galerie Virginie Barrou Planquart, Paris (France)
Galerie Golkar, Bonn (Germany)
ArtMoorHouse Gallery, London (UK)
Fondazione Biagiotti Progetto Arte, Firenze (Italy)
MUSEUMS
Centro per l’Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Alessandro Grassi Collection, Prato (Italy)
Kakslauttanenm Museum, Lapland (Finland)
ART FAIRS
Arte Fiera Bologna, Italy
ArtVerona, Italy
Arte Fiera Reggio Emilia, Italy
Art Across Borders, Bahrain
Houston Art Fair, Houston, Texas, USA
Art Arsenal, Kiev, Ukraine
AAF Brussels, Belgium
PROJECTS
“Madre Terra (Mother Earth)” , Giardino Corsini Firenze, Italy
“Autostima (Self-Esteem)”, Fondazione Biagiotti Progetto Arte, Firenze, Italy
“Le Quattro Stagiorni (The Four Seasons)”, Palazzo Panichi, Pietrasanta, Italy
“Le Quattro Stagiorni (The Four Seasons)”, Palazzo Gianfigliazzi Bonaparte, Firenze, Italy
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
Quarantanove, Pastificio Cerere, Rome
Aequilibrium, Russo Gallery, Roma, Italy (catalogue and critical essay by Marco Tonelli)
Eden, Maddox Gallery, Mayfair, London, UK
Humus, Galleria Ex Marmi, Pietrasanta, Italy (catalogue and critical essay by Marco Tonelli)
Le Quattro Stagioni, Palazzo Panichi (Pietrasanta) e Palazzo Gianfigliazzi Bonaparte (Firenze), Italy
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
Russo Gallery, Rome, Italy
Maddox Gallery, London, UK
Belvedere Art Space, Beirut, Lebanon
ArtMoorHouse Gallery, London, UK
Galerie Golkar, Bonn, Germany
Maddox Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
Galerie Virginie Barrou Planquart, Paris, France
Macek Gallery, Miami, USA
Cadogan Contemporary, London, UK
Fondazione Vacchi, curate by Marco Tonelli
Fondazione Biagiotti Progetto Arte, Firenze, Italy
PUBLICATIONS
Exibart, 222 Young Artists to buy in 2018
Exhibition catalogue “Humus”, curated by Marco Tonelli
Exhibition catalogue “Aequilibrium”, curated by Marco Tonelli
Biography
Riccardo Prosperi, also known as Simafra, lives and works in Florence, his hometown.
He started painting as early as 2000, working for a famous Florentine workshop of restorers and at the same time studying with Professor Ottavio Troiano.
He first participated in competitions and group exhibitions around Tuscany in 2004 and within a few years he was exhibiting in Italy and abroad. Between 2008 and 2010, he lived in Paris and later in Germany, collaborating with numerous galleries: in 2009 with Ken’s Art gallery in Florence, the following year with Galerie Golkar in Bonn and with Infantellina Contemporary in Berlin.
In 2012 he was selected for Art Arsenal, the international biennial exhibition in Kiev and founded La Bottega Moderna in Florence, an independent cultural space and artist’s atelier. In 2013 he was often engaged in London, where he first participated in the group show Odds & Sods at the Art Moor House gallery, and later his works were exhibited at the Cadogan Contemporary gallery.
In the following two years, he began collaborating with the Virginie Barrou Planquart gallery in Paris, with whom he participated in numerous fairs around Europe. The same gallery hosted his first Parisian solo show in March 2015.
In May of the same year he presented, in Palazzo Panichi in Pietrasanta, his project Le Quattro Stagioni (The Four Seasons), four canvases of monumental sizes, later also exhibited in the prestigious context of Palazzo Gianfigliazzi Bonaparte in Florence.
In 2016 he started two new collaborations, one with Maddox Gallery in Mayfair, London and one with Russo Gallery in Rome-Istanbul. The same year he also worked on his first site-specific installation, entitled Autostima and exhibited within the group show Ecosistemi at the Biagiotti Progetto Arte Foundation in Florence.
Simafra’s 2017 opened with Eden, the artist’s first London solo exhibition, hosted within the Maddox Gallery spaces. The same year, the gallery included some works by Simafra in two group exhibitions, Modern Masters and Art Across Borders, the latter organized on the occasion of the gallery’s participation at the International Art Fair of Bahrain.
In January 2017, moreover, Russo Gallery presented a selection of Simafra’s works at its Bologna booth on the occasion of Arte Fiera, while in May of the same year the gallery hosted the artist’s first solo exhibition in Rome, entitled Aequilibrium. Finally, in October 2017 the artist together with the Russo Gallery presented a new work in Verona, on the occasion of the ArtVerona 2017 fair.
In 2018, one of Simafra’s works was included in the Luigi Pecci Contemporary Art Center collection. With 2019 Simafra began a new path in the States, thanks to Maddox Gallery, which exhi- bited his works in their newly opened gallery in Los Angeles. At the same time the artist landed two new collaborations, one with Macek Gallery in Miami, Florida, and the second one with the Belvedere Art Space gallery in Beirut, both hosting Simafra’s solo exhibitions.
In March of the same year, Maddox Gallery of Mayfair in London organized the event An afternoon with Simafra, a presentation of some new paintings by the artist.
In collaboration with the XXV edition of Artigianato e Palazzo, entitled Memories of Russia in Florence, Simafra produced 10 sculptures of the Mother Earth series which were exhibited in May 2019 inside the prestigious Corsini Garden in Florence. Lastly, in 2019 the artist also worked in Finland, where he exhibited his Lapland series at the Kakslauttanen Museum and Art Gallery in Saariselkä, Lapland.
Finally, in 2020 the artist moves his workshop to a new location and decides to embark on a new path.
His recent works are the expression of the research he has undertaken in recent years.
Entirely dedicated to the relationship between Man and Nature, these new paintings are the symbols of a reborn artist.
This rebirth materialized in 2022 with the solo exhibition Quarantanove, set up at the Pastificio Cerere in Rome.
The artist’s next exhibition will be a return to Florence, where he will showcase his work at the Sala d’Arme of Palazzo Vecchio in June 2023.
Biography
Riccardo Prosperi, also known as Simafra, lives and works in Florence, his hometown.
He started painting as early as 2000, working for a famous Florentine workshop of restorers and at the same time studying with Professor Ottavio Troiano.
He first participated in competitions and group exhibitions around Tuscany in 2004 and within a few years he was exhibiting in Italy and abroad. Between 2008 and 2010, he lived in Paris and later in Germany, collaborating with numerous galleries: in 2009 with Ken’s Art gallery in Florence, the following year with Galerie Golkar in Bonn and with Infantellina Contemporary in Berlin.
In 2012 he was selected for Art Arsenal, the international biennial exhibition in Kiev and founded La Bottega Moderna in Florence, an independent cultural space and artist’s atelier. In 2013 he was often engaged in London, where he first participated in the group show Odds & Sods at the Art Moor House gallery, and later his works were exhibited at the Cadogan Contemporary gallery.
In the following two years, he began collaborating with the Virginie Barrou Planquart gallery in Paris, with whom he participated in numerous fairs around Europe. The same gallery hosted his first Parisian solo show in March 2015.
In May of the same year he presented, in Palazzo Panichi in Pietrasanta, his project Le Quattro Stagioni (The Four Seasons), four canvases of monumental sizes, later also exhibited in the prestigious context of Palazzo Gianfigliazzi Bonaparte in Florence.
In 2016 he started two new collaborations, one with Maddox Gallery in Mayfair, London and one with Russo Gallery in Rome-Istanbul. The same year he also worked on his first site-specific installation, entitled Autostima and exhibited within the group show Ecosistemi at the Biagiotti Progetto Arte Foundation in Florence.
Simafra’s 2017 opened with Eden, the artist’s first London solo exhibition, hosted within the Maddox Gallery spaces. The same year, the gallery included some works by Simafra in two group exhibitions, Modern Masters and Art Across Borders, the latter organized on the occasion of the gallery’s participation at the International Art Fair of Bahrain.
In March of the same year, Maddox Gallery of Mayfair in London organized the event An afternoon with Simafra, a presentation of some new paintings by the artist.
In collaboration with the XXV edition of Artigianato e Palazzo, entitled Memories of Russia in Florence, Simafra produced 10 sculptures of the Mother Earth series which were exhibited in May 2019 inside the prestigious Corsini Garden in Florence. Lastly, in 2019 the artist also worked in Finland, where he exhibited his Lapland series at the Kakslauttanen Museum and Art Gallery in Saariselkä, Lapland.
Finally, in 2020 the artist moves his workshop to a new location and decides to embark on a new path.
His recent works are the expression of the research he has undertaken in recent years.
Entirely dedicated to the relationship between Man and Nature, these new paintings are the symbols of a reborn artist.
This rebirth materialized in 2022 with the solo exhibition Quarantanove, set up at the Pastificio Cerere in Rome.
The artist’s next exhibition will be a return to Florence, where he will showcase his work at the Sala d’Arme of Palazzo Vecchio in June 2023.
Curriculum
COLLABORATIONS
Maddox Gallery, London (UK), Los Angeles (USA), Gstaad (CH)
Russo Gallery, Roma (Italy)
Belvedere Art Space, Beirut (Lebanon)
Macek Gallery, Miami (USA)
Cadogan Contemporary, London (UK)
Galerie Virginie Barrou Planquart, Paris (France)
Galerie Golkar, Bonn (Germany)
ArtMoorHouse Gallery, London (UK)
Fondazione Biagiotti Progetto Arte, Firenze (Italy)
MUSEUMS
Centro per l’Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Alessandro Grassi Collection, Prato (Italy)
Kakslauttanenm Museum, Lapland (Finland)
ART FAIRS
Arte Fiera Bologna, Italy
ArtVerona, Italy
Arte Fiera Reggio Emilia, Italy
Art Across Borders, Bahrain
Houston Art Fair, Houston, Texas, USA
Art Arsenal, Kiev, Ukraine
AAF Brussels, Belgium
PROJECTS
“Madre Terra (Mother Earth)” , Giardino Corsini Firenze, Italy
“Autostima (Self-Esteem)”, Fondazione Biagiotti Progetto Arte, Firenze, Italy
“Le Quattro Stagiorni (The Four Seasons)”, Palazzo Panichi, Pietrasanta, Italy
“Le Quattro Stagiorni (The Four Seasons)”, Palazzo Gianfigliazzi Bonaparte, Firenze, Italy
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
Quarantanove, Pastificio Cerere, Rome
Aequilibrium, Russo Gallery, Roma, Italy (catalogue and critical essay by Marco Tonelli)
Eden, Maddox Gallery, Mayfair, London, UK
Humus, Galleria Ex Marmi, Pietrasanta, Italy (catalogue and critical essay by Marco Tonelli)
Le Quattro Stagioni, Palazzo Panichi (Pietrasanta) e Palazzo Gianfigliazzi Bonaparte (Firenze), Italy
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
Russo Gallery, Rome, Italy
Maddox Gallery, London, UK
Belvedere Art Space, Beirut, Lebanon
ArtMoorHouse Gallery, London, UK
Galerie Golkar, Bonn, Germany
Maddox Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
Galerie Virginie Barrou Planquart, Paris, France
Macek Gallery, Miami, USA
Cadogan Contemporary, London, UK
Fondazione Vacchi, curate by Marco Tonelli
Fondazione Biagiotti Progetto Arte, Firenze, Italy
PUBLICATIONS
Exibart, 222 Young Artists to buy in 2018
Exhibition catalogue “Humus”, curated by Marco Tonelli
Exhibition catalogue “Aequilibrium”, curated by Marco Tonelli