Ugo Rondinone

1998, 1998

In the midst of the AIDS crisis, Western society became frightened and homophobic. Ugo Rondinone wanted to react to this new wave, which was pushing homosexuals back into the closet and ostracizing them, by creating a realistic character confronted with this crisis. Between 1992 and 1998, he wrote and drew five diaries, fictions of a promiscuous gay artist and drug addict living in Zurich, whose name is Ugo. For the Son Biennale, the 1998 audio version is accompanied by a new edition of that year's diary.

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Ugo Rondinone

Born in 1964
Based in New York

Ugo Rondinone established himself as a major figure in international contemporary art in the 1990s. His multifaceted oeuvre utilizes a variety of materials, such as lead, wood, wax, bronze, stained glass, ink, paint, earth, and stone. His works explore the connections between nature, spirituality, and the human condition, often with a minimalist and symbolic aesthetic. He is particularly known for his fluorescent-colored stacked stone totems, such as Seven Magic Mountains (2016–2021) in the Nevada desert. He has also curated exhibitions, such as I ♥ John Giorno (2015), a tribute to his companion, the American poet John Giorno.