1/12 Stefano Canziani

In a society ruled by images, it is important to rework what we see, avoiding that this bombing of stimuli leads to sterile observation.

Thanks to digital collage, buildings change and become the protagonists of a story that goes beyond reality; we enter a dreamlike dimension, which wishes to evoke moods, formal analogies between epochs and styles, design fashions, or even ironic interpretations of what a man encounters daily in the city.

Stefano Canziani was born in Gallarate on 23 December 1988. In 2013, he graduated from the Faculty of Architecture at Milan Polytechnic with Angelo Torricelli. During his master’s degree, he collaborated with Monestiroli Architetti Associati studio, contributing to the staging of the exhibition “Antonio Monestiroli – Rational Architecture” at Casa del Mantegna in Mantua. During this experience he got very close to architectural drawing.

In Opera stands the Mirasole Abbey, the subject of the artwork. But Opera is also the site of Cober, where production takes place and where everything that is this company comes to life. Finally, Opera is the title of the work that Stefano Canziani created to celebrate our 70th anniversary.

Here is ‘Opera, 2022’ in the words of its creator: “The slightly antiqued/grainy effect of the basic photo of the Abbey of Mirasole is intentional, as if it were a photo from 70 years ago, when Cober was born. The pole is an element that supports and ensures balance, as does the column in architecture. The columns of the cloister are, therefore, made of Cober poles. There is also a small pole at the top of the bell tower, symbolising the company’s desire to aim higher and higher‘.

Since 2014, with  SDARCH studio in Milan, he has participated in several national and international competitions, as well as developing projects in Turkey, Azerbaijan, Thailand, Russia and other countries. At the turn of 2014 and 2015, he took part in the Urban Care project, together with the Milan Order of Architects, taking action in the drafting of the guidelines of the urban furniture manual for the municipality of Milan.

During the same period, he joined the team of Alhadeff Architects, based in Milan and London. For a few years, he returned to the university environment as an assistant in the architectural composition workshop held by Arch. Benedetta Tagliabue at Milan Polytechnic.

In 2018, he began collaborating with HEAT Architecture Ltd studio in London, which he joined from 2021 with Angus Fiori Architects in Milan. His graphic production began in 2016, participating in 30<30, a competition on architectural design dedicated to authors under 30, which led him to exhibit during the Fuori Salone in Milan.

In the same year, he won a competition on environmental sustainability promoted by Edison, and his project Grafriend became a short film, made in collaboration with directors Gabriele Mainetti and Andrea Segre.

In 2018 he exhibited at the Order of Architects of Varese and his works were selected for the exhibition 99FILES: Skopje Brutalism held at MoCA in Skopje.

In 2020 he took part in the Viral Art group exhibition at the Cael Gallery in Milan and the following year he exhibited at the Spazio Arte Petrecca during the exhibition dedicated to Architettura Disegnata in the city of Isernia.

In 2021, the Polytechnic University of Genoa included some of his works in its Drawings archive and, in the same year, in collaboration with LondonArt Wallpaper, he participated in the Exclusive Wallpaper collection with two works that became wallpapers. In November, he inaugurated his first solo exhibition at the Civico3 space in Gallarate.

His works are chosen to be part of the set design for the series Vostro Onore, starring Stefano Accorsi, to be aired in February 2022 on RAI.

In the last year he was invited by the collective Roma Smistamento and TWM Factory to participate in the exhibition Riscatti di città held in Rome, at Palazzo Merulana, for which he produced a series of eight works on the theme of disused spaces and urban regeneration.

Over the years, his works have been published in various magazines, including GAP Casa, Marie Claire Maison, STUDIO and Glamour Affair.

For any further information, or to acquire the artwork, you can contact us here.