BRIAN ENO
Woodbridge, 1948
“What I wanted is to create situations where people can have a little time for themselves, where they don’t have to feel threatened or hurried or stressed”.
Galleria Michela Rizzo is delighted to announce the third solo exhibition by British artist Brian Eno, recently honoured with the prestigious Leone d'Oro at La Biennale Musica, Venice. Eno, one of the most influential thinkers, artists, and composers of our era, defies conventional boundaries by traversing various spheres and blurring the lines between artistic categories. Regarded as a pioneer of Generative Art, Eno's fascination with creative processes since childhood has shaped his entire body of work, with a major focus on concept and process.
As noted by Christopher Scoates in the introduction to "Visual Music”, Eno's contributions as a visual artist have often been overlooked in favour of his musical output, which is more widely distributed, marketed, and consumed. However, Eno's formal training in the visual arts equipped him with the theoretical tools that have proven pivotal in both his musical and visual endeavours. His approach to art and music revolves around a conceptually driven process integral to the work itself.
The exhibition in Venice, titled “Gibigiane”, which refers to the glow of light reflected on water or a mirror, invites the public to immerse themselves in the environments created by the artist. Here, the slow algorithmic interchange of light, shapes, and colours creates an immersive experience for the audience. Eno introduces the theme of slowness as a form of progress and an alternative to the frenetic pace of contemporary society. He encourages visitors to pause, slow down, and engage with the artwork as a participatory experience, where the gradual generative interplay of forms and colours fosters a captivating event rather than merely encountering an artefact.
Highlights of the exhibition include Turntable II which is a functioning turntable but when it isn’t playing a record, it’s a sculpture. It was launched in February 2024.
Umbria II, was conceived as a site-specific light box and was previously exhibited at the National Gallery of Umbria, in dialogue with Beato Angelico’s Polittico Guidalotti (1447 - 49).
Still and Ovation, will also be on show and are two recent works made for the occasion of a two-man show with works by Dan Flavin. Additionally, Eno has crafted three tapestries exclusively for the Venetian exhibition, woven by Giovanni Bonotto and copied from works Eno made on the computer in the early 1990s using a drawing program originally designed for children.
Giovanni Bonotto, co-founded A Collection together with Chiara Casarin in 2019, with the intention of creating artworks while promoting environmental awareness. The tapestries are produced using a meticulous process which incorporates recycled plastic and is certified by the Global Recycle Standards, bringing together the synergy between technology, research, contemporaneity, and tradition.
This exhibition offers the public a unique opportunity to experience the works of Brian Eno, encouraging a reflection on slowness as a form of progress and inviting an active participation in the artistic experience.
Brian Eno (Woodbridge, United Kingdom, 1948) has been one of the most influential voices in contemporary art and music since the early 1970s. He is considered one of the founding fathers of ambient music and generative art, exploring slowness in a hyper-dynamic world. His works—of light and music—are conceived to be observed calmly, offering immersive and intimate sensory experiences, perfect for those seeking personal reflection more than external stimuli.
One of the most emblematic works for understanding his poetics is 77 Million Paintings, a generative-software system that combines images and sounds in infinite, never-repeating variations. His Lightboxes, with subtle LED lights and constantly evolving color gradients, create scenarios that blur the boundaries between beginning, end, and function, inviting attentive lingering in their changing beauty. Eno favors simple instructions that generate complexity: in his own words, “simple systems from which complexity arises.”
His practice spans music and light, generative painting and sound sculpture, aiming to merge space and time. His philanthropic contributions are significant: he has created therapeutic Lightboxes for hospitals (Chelsea & Westminster, Montefiore, Macmillan Horizon Centre), and between 1995 and 1997 he took part in a music therapy project for traumatized children in Bosnia via the NGO War Child, contributing to the construction of an educational center in Mostar.
His works have been exhibited in prestigious institutions: Walker Art Center, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, New Museum NY, Vancouver Art Gallery, Stedelijk Amsterdam, Centre Pompidou, ICA London, Baltic Centre Gateshead, as well as the Venice Biennale, among others.
Since 2018 he has collaborated with Galleria Michela Rizzo: he presented Ambient Paintings (solo show) in 2018 and a site-specific exhibition in 2020 at the Ex Birrificio.
In recent years: in 2022 he debuted the major solo show Ambient Kyoto in Kyoto, featuring 77 Million Paintings and The Ship. In 2023 he created Ships, an orchestral performance in world premiere at the Venice Biennale Musica with the Baltic Sea Philharmonic and Tom Serafinowicz, awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement by the Venice Biennale 2023.
In 2024 he presents Turntable II at the Paul Stolper Gallery in London (February–March): a generative turntable that becomes a sculpture of light and color. Also in 2024, he opens Gibigiane (April–July) at Galleria Michela Rizzo in Venice: lightboxes, lenticulars, generative tapestries, and Turntable II, for an immersion in algorithmic slowness.
In 2025, the exhibition Medium is scheduled (May–June) at the Paul Stolper Gallery, a show of prints, etchings, and books on various supports. In 2024 the documentary Eno debuts (directed by Gary Hustwit, generative software Brain One), premiered at Sundance in January 2024: the film changes with every viewing, and is available from July 2024.
In January 2025, the livestream “24 HOURS OF ENO” takes place: 24 continuous hours of Eno versions, generative videos, and conversations, beginning on January 24. In April 2025, the album Luminal, made with Beatie Wolfe, is released, followed by a second album, Lateral (April 2025).
Brian Eno received the prestigious Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement from the Venice Biennale Musica 2023, recognizing him as a pioneer of digital sound and of acoustic space as a compositional tool.
