Angelica Mesiti (born 1976,

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

) is an Australian multi-disciplinary artist of Italian descent, working in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and Sydney. She is best known for her combination of performances with video, sound and spatial installation that result in highly contemplative spaces. Her work is situated at the interstice of diasporic cultures, gestural communication and sensory togetherness. Angelica Mesiti has completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) and a Master of Fine Arts from the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...

in Sydney. In 2009, Mesiti was the recipient of the 58th

Blake Prize The Blake Prize, formerly the Blake Prize for Religious Art, is an List of Australian art awards, Australian art prize awarded for art that explores spirituality. Since the inaugural prize in 1951, the prize was awarded annually from 1951 to 2 ...

for her 10 minute video work called 'Rapture (silent anthem)', which depicts in slow motion joyful youths bathed in bright sunlight. Angelica Mesiti has been exhibiting her work since 2011 in venues including the

Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most import ...

, the 19th

Biennale of Sydney The Biennale of Sydney is an international festival of contemporary art, held every two years in Sydney, Australia. It is a large and well-attended contemporary visual arts event in the country. Alongside the Venice and São Paulo biennales and ...

, the

Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA) is a contemporary visual and performance arts venue located in a heritage-listed building in Perth, Western Australia. History 1896–1959: Schools The building at 53 James Street, Northbridge, James ...

Artspace Sydney Artspace, officially Artspace Visual Arts Centre, is an independent, not-for-profit, and non-collecting residency-based contemporary art centre. Artspace is housed in the historic Gunnery Building in Woolloomooloo, fronting Sydney Harbour in ...

, the

National Gallery of Australia The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...

, th
Museum of Contemporary Art of Montréal
and the

Palais de Tokyo The Palais de Tokyo (''Tokyo Palace'') is a building dedicated to modern and contemporary art, located at 13 avenue du Président-Wilson, facing the Trocadéro, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The eastern wing of the building belongs to ...

in Paris, among others. Mesiti has become best known for video works that use cinematic conventions and performance languages as a means of responding to personal histories and specific environments. Mesiti was a founding member of the Sydney-based artist-run initiative Imperial Slacks, where she curated the two-part video publication ''Serial 7's''. Angelica Mesiti represented Australia at the

2019 Venice Biennale The 58th Venice Biennale was an international contemporary art exhibition held between May and November 2019. The Venice Biennale takes place biennially in Venice, Italy. Artistic director Ralph Rugoff curated its central exhibition, ''May You ...

, with a three chanel work calle
ASSEMBLY
filmed in the Senate chambers of Italy and Australia, and projected within an architectural amphitheatre. It was selected as a highlight of the Biennale by ''

Artsy Artsy, formally known as Art.sy Inc is a New York City based online art brokerage. Its main business is developing and hosting website for numerous galleries as well as selling art for them. It utilizes a search engine and database to draw conne ...

'' and ''

Designboom ''Designboom'' (stylized as ''designboom'') is a daily web magazine headquartered in Milan and covering the fields of industrial design, architecture, and art internationally. History Launched in 1999, the publication was the first web magazin ...

''. According to Associated Press, the work examines "ways citizens can assemble and communicate against the backdrop of fragile democracy." The artist suggests the work explores "the space where communication moves from verbal and written forms to non-verbal, gestural and musical forms."

Selected works

* ''The rain that fell in the faint light of the young Sun'' (2022) * ''Future Perfect Continuous'' (2022) * ''Over the Air and Underground'' (2020) * ''A Hundred Years'' (2020) * ''Assembly'' (2019) * ''Relay League'' (2017) * ''Mother Tongue'' (2017) * ''Tossed by Waves'' (2017) * ''The Colour of Saying'' (2015) * ''Nakh Removed'' (2015) * ''In the Ear of the Tyrant'' (2014) * ''The Calling'' (2013–14) * ''Citizens Band'' (2012) * ''Prepared Piano for Movers'' (Haussmann) (2012) * ''Rapture (Silent Anthem)'' (2009)

Selected publications

* ''A Communication of Stranger Gestures Angelica Mesiti, Art Space, 2017.'' * ''Angelica Mesiti «Quand faire c’est dire» Palais de Tokyo 20.02 - 12.05, 2019.'' * ''Angelica Mesiti Assembly, Australia Council for the Arts, Pavilion of Australia at the 58th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, 2019.'' * ''In the Round Angelica Mesiti, Talbot Rice Gallery, 2022.''

References

1976 births Australian contemporary artists Living people Australian video artists Australian people of Italian descent Artists from Paris Blake Prize for Religious Art winners Australian women artists Artists from Sydney {{australia-artist-stub