Alessandro Pongan was born in La Spezia, Italy, in 1963. Due to the moves of his father, an engineer, he grew up in many different cities and countries. From1974 to 1981 he lived in Milan and Brazil, at Volta Redonda, in the inland zone near Rio de Janeiro, and in Vitória, the capital of the state of Espírito Santo, a city-island surrounded by the Atlantic. In Vitória he completed his high school studies that began in Milan, taking a diploma in scientific studies. The period spent in South America has left its mark, in the form of a joyful, open perspective on life.
After returning to Milan, he went to the Scuola Politecnica di Design of Nino Di Salvatore, where he graduated in 1983 in Visual Design. His teachers included Heinz Waibl, Attilio Marcolli and Bruno Munari, who entered the classroom pronouncing phrases like “the tree is the very slow explosion of a seed” or “it should be understood that as long as art remains extraneous to the problems of life, it will interest only a few people.”
After working freelance for a few years, in 1988 he founded the visual design studio Officina Design in Milan, which still operates today. In 1993-1994 he spent long periods in Athens as an art director and set designer of television programs for Ant1, a private national broadcasting network. Thanks to these professional experiences, he was able to deeply explore the fields of graphic design, television, set design, computer animation, video production, communication, exhibit design, installations, always making the force of design the central feature of his work.
His imagery is clear, confident, pithy and filmic. Latin passion combined with Nordic rationalism. This attraction to the north led him to the artistic and professional encounter with the Danish designer Hans Thyge, with whom he has done many projects, including the interactive section for children, the World of Glass, of the Glasmuseet of Ebeltoft.
The list of companies for which he has worked during almost three decades of career is a long one, among many others, Fiat, AlfaRomeo, Lamborghini, Maserati... In 2015 he did the exhibit installations for the New Holland-Fiat Pavilion at Expo Milano 2015; he directed a television advertisement for the famous design brand Alessi using 3D techniques, and did the set design and artistic direction for the prize ceremony of the Sport Media Pearl Awards in Abu Dhabi. In 2019 he created the design concept for to the Azerbaijan pavilion for Expo 2020/21.
Since 2017 Alessandro Pongan has dedicated himself to artistic activity.
COLLECTIVE EXHIBITION (in progress) -05.10.2020 - 24.01.2021
Càpasules de Confinament, art i pandemia a Catalunya - Fundaciò VIla Casas - Museu Can Framis, Barcelona.
LECTURE - 28.09.2019
Una scultura al parco: when art generates a place - Casa Testori curltural association.
A sculpture in the park: when art generates a place - Presentation of the work Gigantino Balossa - Balossa Award 2018.
PUBLICATION - January 2019
Return to the Source, Abudhabi - New Energy Landscapes from the Land Art Generator. Ed. Prestel
The “Red Giant” project selected for publication among the 60 finalists of the competition.
LAND ART COMPETITION - 2018
LAGI 2018 - Abudhabi. Land art Generator - Finalist of the competition with the “Red Giant” project.
ART COMPETITION - 2018
Premio Arte Balossa - Parco Nord Milano, Casa Testori, Municipalities of Novate, Cormano and Bollate.
Balossa Art Award - Ex-aequo winner, construction of a permanent public work in the park.
PUBLICATION - 2019
Catalogo dell'Arte Moderna - Giorgio Mondadori Editore
ART COMPETITION - EXHIBITION - 2018
Premio ARTE 2018 - Cairo Editore - Finalist in the sculpture category, group exhibition at the Palazzo Reale in Milan.
COLLECTIVE EXHIBITION - 10.10.2018 - 20.11.2018
Relazioni Estetiche - Reggia di Caserta. -Villam Art, curated by Massimo Scaringella
COLLECTIVE EXHIBITION - 15.07.2017 - 08.09.2017
Contexto - Casa Testori curltural association, curated by Davide Dall’Ombra
PERSONAL EXHIBITION ON COMMISSION - 2019
Timeless - Personal exhibition by invitation commissioned by CENTRI PORSCHE MILANO in occasion of the launch event of the new 911 car.
PERSONAL EXHIBITION ON COMMISSION - 2018
What's Next? - Personal exhibition by invitation commissioned by NEXI on the occasion of the event in rebranding launch.
