Leopoldo D'Angelo (born 11 July 1995 in

Turin, Italy Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

), better known by the pseudonym "Dangiuz" () is an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

contemporary

visual artist The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics (art), ceramics, photography, video, image, filmmaking, design, crafts, and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual a ...

digital art Digital art, or the digital arts, is artistic work that uses Digital electronics, digital technology as part of the creative or presentational process. It can also refer to computational art that uses and engages with digital media. Since the 1960 ...

ist and

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

specializing in sci-fi themes. His work has been featured in art networks, books, TV channels and magazines such as

RAI (), commercially styled as since 2000 and known until 1954 as (RAI), is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many terrestrial and subscription television channels a ...

Arte Arte (, , ; ' ('), sometimes stylised in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European Union, European public service Television channel, channel dedicated to culture. It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based Europea ...

Wallpaper* ''Wallpaper'', stylized ''Wallpaper*'', is a publication focusing on design and architecture, fashion, travel, art, and lifestyle. The magazine was launched in London in 1996 by Canadian journalist Tyler Brûlé and Austrian journalist Alexander ...

, NVIDIA Studio Standouts,

Juxtapoz Magazine ''Juxtapoz Art & Culture Magazine'' (pronounced ''JUX-tah-pose'') is a magazine created in 1994 by a group of artists and art collectors including Robert Williams, Fausto Vitello, C.R. Stecyk III (a.k.a. Craig Stecyk), Greg Escalante, and Eric ...

Sohu Sohu, Inc. () is a Chinese Internet company headquartered in the Sohu Internet Plaza in Haidian District, Beijing. Sohu and its subsidiaries offer advertising, a search engine (Sogou.com), on-line multiplayer gaming (ChangYou.com) and other se ...

Pixiv Pixiv is a Japanese Virtual community, online community for artists. It was first launched as a beta test on 10 September 2007, by Takahiro Kamitani and Takanori Katagiri. Pixiv Inc. is headquartered in Sendagaya, Shibuya, Tokyo, Shibuya, Toky ...

and Digital Production, and showcased in various museums and galleries worldwide. He also took part in the creation of

Rui Hachimura is a Japanese professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball, Gonzaga Bulldogs and has played for the Japan nation ...

's ''Cherry Blossom'' kimono design and

Maserati Maserati S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury vehicle manufacturer. Established on 1 December 1914 in Bologna, Italy, the company's headquarters are now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. The company has been owned by Stellantis since 2021. Ma ...

's MC20 concept art.

Style and influence

Described as "Romantic Cyberpunk", his work, artistic style and concepts fall under the

Sci-Fi Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

and

Cyberpunk Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting said to focus on a combination of "low-life and high tech". It features futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and cyberwa ...

categories, and his figure is often linked to

, 3D design, Sci-Fi/Cyberpunk genres in cinema and

NFT A non-fungible token (NFT) is a unique digital identifier that is recorded on a blockchain and is used to certify ownership and authenticity. It cannot be copied, substituted, or subdivided. The ownership of an NFT is recorded in the blockchai ...

s, sometimes in controversial terms. Produced with 3D computer graphics software, his work is interpreted as a critique of modern society, authoritarian algocracies and the escalating dominance of technology, depicting dystopian scenarios with references and hints to ''

Blade Runner ''Blade Runner'' is a 1982 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott from a screenplay by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples. Starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, and Edward James Olmos, it is an adaptation of Philip K. Di ...

'' and ''

The Matrix ''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction film, science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in the The Matrix (franchise), ''Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Ca ...

'', from which the artist stated he draws inspiration. He mentions

Syd Mead Sydney Jay Mead (July 18, 1933 – December 30, 2019) was an American industrial designer and Neo-futurism, neo-futurist concept artist. Initially known for his influential futuristic design work for industrial clients such as U.S. Steel, Phili ...

and

Beeple use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , body_discovered = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates ...

as the contemporary artists who influenced the most during his formative years. The presence of a black cat in nearly all of Dangiuz's work has become a key signature and recurring element. Often referred to as an easter egg, the "''Dangiuz Cat''" has become a symbol associated with Dangiuz's artistic identity.

Career

In February 2021, ''"Grand Challenge"'', one of D'Angelo's artworks, was one of the first fully digital artworks sold as a

non-fungible token A non-fungible token (NFT) is a unique digital identifier that is recorded on a blockchain and is used to certify ownership and authenticity. It cannot be copied, substituted, or subdivided. The ownership of an NFT is recorded in the blockchai ...

by an Italian digital artist. In March 2021, upon digital art and NFTs gaining popularity due to Beeple's Everydays: the First 5000 Days sale, D'Angelo rose to prominence together with other digital artists, establishing himself in the following months as one of the most prolific digital artists selling single edition artworks ''(1/1s)'' as NFTs on the digital art platform SuperRare, along with other popular digital artists such as XCOPY and

Pak Pak or PAK may refer to: Places * Pakistan (country code PAK) * Pak, Afghanistan * Pakpak Bharat, a regency in North Sumatra, Indonesia * Pak Island, in the Admiralty Islands group of Papua New Guinea * Pak Tea House, a café in Lahore, Punj ...

. In June 2022 he took part in a charity auction at

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, and it has additional salerooms in New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Milan, Geneva, Shan ...

, with all the proceeds being donated to

MAPS A map is a symbolic depiction of interrelationships, commonly spatial, between things within a space. A map may be annotated with text and graphics. Like any graphic, a map may be fixed to paper or other durable media, or may be displayed on ...

. The NFT of his artwork ''"Enchanter"'' was auctioned and sold, realizing a price of $44,100, making it the 10th most expensive NFT digital artwork of 2022 sold at a great auction house. In January 2023 Dangiuz stood out for releasing ''"A Breath of Fresh Air"'', an Open Edition NFT artwork that was collected 9152 times, making it the fourth highest grossing Open Edition ever and the second highest of 2023. Between December 2023 and January 2024 his artworks ''"La Siesta"'' and ''"Carnival Plaza"'', previously owned by 3AC, were auctioned at

Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

and sold: the former for an undisclosed amount, the latter for $21,540.

Selected Art exhibitions and galleries

* Maxon

Cinema 4D Cinema 4D is a 3D software suite developed by the German company Maxon. Overview As of R21, only a single version of Cinema 4D is available. It replaces all previous variants, including BodyPaint 3D, and includes all features of the past 'Stu ...

official gallery, ''digital'', 2019 * “Heart of Cyberpunk” exhibition in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

, 2020 * “Invisible Cities” exhibition, ''digital'', 2021 * ”NFTNYC” exhibition in

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, 2021 * “Lugano NFT Week” exhibition at Villa Ciani in

Lugano Lugano ( , , ; ) is a city and municipality within the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. It is the largest city in both Ticino and the Italian-speaking region of southern Switzerland. Lugano has a population () of , and an u ...

, 2021 * “DART2121” exhibition at Museo della Permanente in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, 2021 * “CryptoArtFair UAE” exhibition at

Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre The ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi is an exhibition centre in Abu Dhabi. It was opened by Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates on February 18, 2007. It was designed by the international architecture firm, ...

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

, 2021 * “Milano Art Week 2022” exhibition in

, 2022 * Vanity Fair's "MetaVanity", ''digital'', 2022 * SuperRare Gallery in

SoHo SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

, 2022 * "Plastic Future Exhibition" at Mecenate Fine Art Gallery in

Rome, Italy Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, 2023 * "Dystopia: Societas Futura" exhibition at

Art Dubai Art Dubai () is an international art fair that takes place every March in Dubai. Founded in 2007, Art Dubai is a major platform for art from the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia. Each year, the fair features a globally diverse lineup of ov ...

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

, 2024

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control 1995 births 21st-century Italian male artists Living people Artists from Turin Italian digital artists Pseudonymous artists