Art is not made to be believed, but to be investigated.

Joseph Pace was born in Morbegno, Italy and grew up in Congo-Kinshasa. He studied law, literature, social sciences and psychoanalysis at the Universities Sorbonne of Paris, Sapienza, RomaTre, IRPS of Rome. He taught History of Sociology and Sociology of Knowledge and Art at the Rome Sapienza University.

Thus Mariastella Margozzi underlines Pace’s work in one her critical text: “Joseph Pace, is one of the the greatest exponents of “le filtranisme”, the philosophical and artistic neo-existentialist current that he founded in Paris in the mid 80s. As was for the existentialism of Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus, the filtranisme also is artistically expressed through the work by Joseph Pace. Inspired by sources as diverse as fashion, sport, history, electronic music and decorative arts, the Italian artist Joseph Pace uses techniques different (such as painting, assemblage, sculpture, electronic engravings, photography) influenced by the iconongraphy of mass society, philosophy and psychoanalysis. His work gives an artistic and intellectual pathway with which the artist reinterprets many of our psychic realities. His sculptures has been created with thousands of pieces of jewelery, mostly vintage, which Pace search all over the world, thus creating a sort of “industrial archeology” research applied to the decoration of the body of our times. Through different techniques, Pace put together different creatives and users generations. This also is, according to the artist, the aim of the filtranisme. In Italy and especially abroad, his work has been the subject of important museums and institutions throughout the wolrd.” 

EXHIBITIONS

Pace’s work has been shown at the Pantheon, Rome, Museum Boncompagni Ludovisi of Decorative Arts and Italian Fashion of the National Gallery of Modern Art of Rome, Museum of Art of the Parliament in São Paulo, National Museum of Bardo of Tunis, Afro Brasil Museum in São Paulo, National Archaeological Museum of Civitavecchia, Sociedade Brasileira de Belas Artes de Rio de Janeiro, Municipal Theater of Jaguariuna, Brazil, Florence Biennale, Italian Embassy in Brasilia, University Cà Foscari of Venice, Fondazione Museo Venanzo Crocetti, Museum of Art of Itapevi, Brazil, Circolo Italiano in São Paulo, National Historical Library of Agriculture, Basilica of San Lorenzo e Lucina in Rome, Norman-Swabian Castle, al CRC di São Paulo, Doicesan Museum of Amalfi, Copertino Castel, Forte Sangallo in Nettuno, International Film Festival of Ostia. 

HONORS

Pace received numerous honors in recognition of his cultural achievements, notably by the Instituto de Recuperação do Patrimônio Histórico de São Paulo, University of Loraine, Italian Embassy in Brasilia, Superintendência do Patrimônio Cultural do Estado de São Paulo, University of Konstanz, Italian Ministry of Agricultural Policies, Circolo Italiano di São Paulo, Municipal Theater of Jaguariuna, Italian Institute of Culture in São Paulo, Sapienza University of Rome, Italian National Sociologists Association.

PUBLIC COLLECTIONS

Pace’s work is part of important public collections, including the Pantheon, Rome, Italy (.) Museum Boncompagni Ludovisi of Decorative Arts and Italian Fashion, Rome, Italy (.) Museu de Arte do Parlamento de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil (.) Diocesan Museum of Amalfi, Amalfi, Italy (.) Museu Afro Brasil, São Paulo, Brazil (.) Italian Embassy in Brasilia, Brazil (.) Camara Municipal de Itapevi, Brazil (.) Museu de Arte do Parlamento de Itapevi, Brazil (.) Basilica di San Lorenzo in Lucina, Rome, Italy (.) National Historical Library of Agriculture, Rome, Italy (.) Municipal Theater of Jaguariúna, Brazil (.) Prefeitura de Jaguariúna, Jaguariúna, Brazil (.) Circolo Italiano, Edificio Italia, São Paulo, Brazil (.) Museo Fondazione Venanzo Crocetti, Rome, Italy (.) Coleçao de Arte do Conselho de Contabilitade do Estado de São Paulo, Brazil (.) Instituto de Recuperaçao do Patrimonio Historico no Estado de São Paulo, Brazil.