Matteo Bittanti is an interdisciplinary artist based in San Francisco and Milan. His practice is located at the intersection of gaming, film, and the web. Bittanti's conceptual works have been exhibited in the United States, Canada, England, Australia, Mexico, Scotland, Australia, France, and Italy. Since 2012, he has been collaborating with Colleen Flaherty as COLL.EO. His curatorial practice includes exhibitions in both Europe and the United States, including the MILAN MACHINIMA FESTIVAL (2018), REPLAY (2017), GAME VIDEO/ART. A SURVEY (2016, with Vincenzo Trione), TRAVELOGUE (2016), and ITALIANS DO IT BETTER!! (2011, with Domenico Quaranta in the Fringe events of the Venice Biennale). As a scholar, he conducted fearless research at UC Berkeley, fought technological determinism at Stanford University, understood the difference between critical theory and hypocritical theory, social practice and social justice while performing as an Adjunct Professor at California College of the Arts.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS AND EVENTS
2021
Homo Ludens, CaixaForum Madrid, Madrid, Spain: July 20 - October 31 2021
2020
Now Play This: A Festival of Experimental Game Design, London, United Kingdom, April 3-5, 2020.
2019
SUPERNOVA, Denver, Colorado, With Colleen Flaherty. September 19-21 2019.
FUNCTION, Mallorca, Spain, With Colleen Flaherty. May 24-25 2019.
Milan Machinima Festival 2019, Milan, Italy, With Colleen Flaherty. March 18 2019.
In a Gamescape. Landscape, Reality, Storytelling and Identity in Video Games, NTT InterCommunication Center [ICC] Gallery A, With Colleen Flaherty. Tokyo, Japan, December 15 2018 - March 10 2019.
2018
In a Gamescape Landscape, Reality, Storytelling and Identity in Video Games, Tokyo, Japan, December 2018.
NextNewGames, Institute of Contemporary Art, San José, California, June 2018.
Sheffield Film/Doc Festival, Sheffield, UK, June 2018.
2017
RE/PLAY. Reenactment Practices in Video Games, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, November 14, 2017.
Simulacrum, De Altonale Art Festival, Greskewitz-Kleinitz, Hamburg, Germany. With Colleen Flaherty. June 17 - July 4 2017.
Simulacrum, Noorderlicht Photogallery, Groeningen, The Netherlands. With Colleen Flaherty. April 8, - June 25, 2017.
ART GAMES DEMOS. With Colleen Flaherty. Marseille, France. March 1 - 31, 2017.
Co-Existence Exhibition, Eastern Kentucky University, Kentucky, USA. With Colleen Flaherty. March 22 - 25, 2017
2016
Travelogue, Mantua, Italy. With Colleen Flaherty.
Vector 2016, Vancouver, Canada. With Colleen Flaherty.
Cool War. Game Art Across the Straits, Wifredo Centro De Arte Contemporaneo, Habana, Cuba. With Colleen Flaherty.
How to Build a Universe Which Does Not Fall Apart Two Days Later, La Maison Populaire, Paris, France. With Colleen Flaherty.
2015
Game on! El arte en juego, San Martín Cultural Center, Buenos Aires, Argentina, November 7 - 15, 2015. With Colleen Flaherty.
International Festival of New Media Art and Video Transitio_MX, Centro Nacional de las Artes, Mexico City, Mexico, September 25 - October 11, 2015. With Colleen Flaherty.
LEGIT 3D, Skyline Gallery, Skyline College, San Bruno, California, September 8 - October 9, 2015. With Colleen Flaherty.
MIRAGE, Casa De Cultura De Guanabacoa, Havana, Cuba, Collateral exhibition of the 12th Havana Biennial, May 26 - June 2, 2015. With Colleen Flaherty.
Cool War. Game Art Across the Straits, El Fanguito, Havana, Cuba, Collateral exhibition of the 12th Havana Biennial, May 18 - June 18, 2015. With Colleen Flaherty.
No Man is an Island, LEVEL UP Game Art Exhibition, Taipei Cultural Center, New York, May 31, 2015.
Blank Arcade Art Exhibition curated by Lindsay Grace and Paolo Ruffino, Leuphana Centre for Digital Cultures, Lüneburg, Germany, May 14 - 17, 2015. With Colleen Flaherty.
The Dissidents, the Displaced and the Outliers I, Random Parts Gallery, Oakland, California, May 2 - June 5, 2015. With Colleen Flaherty.
The Dissidents, the Displaced and the Outliers II, Incline Gallery, San Francisco, California, May 16 - June 19, 2015. With Colleen Flaherty.
2014
PRIVATE, Come in!, Spare Change Artist Space, San Francisco, California, October 10 - November 11, 2014. With Colleen Flaherty.
“Art in the Age of Grand Theft Auto” Raul Berrueco. LOWTOY Festival Internacional de 8 Bit & DIY Electrònica, Barcelona, Spain. September 2014. With Colleen Flaherty.
IF ELVIS WAS THE KING, WHO WAS JAMES BROWN?, The Art Gallery, San Francisco State University, August 28 - September 25, 2014. With Colleen Flaherty.
SAMO IS DEAD. PRESS PLAY, WAG, online, June 9 - July 10, 2014.
2013
Games Reflexions, Carreau, Paris, France, curated by Isabelle Arvers. October 18 - November 12, 2013. With Colleen Flaherty.
Working Title: CCA Faculty Exhibition 2013, curated by Mara Skov Holt, San Francisco, California. September 4 - 26, 2013. With Colleen Flaherty.
The Games of Art, The Block, QUT Creative Industries Precinct, Brisbane, Australia. July 23 - August 3, 2013.
Vector. Game + Art Convergence. Toronto, Canada. February 21-24 2013. With Colleen Flaherty.
2012
GAME, Science Gallery, Dublin, Ireland. October 26, 2012 - January 18, 2013. With IOCOSE.
Point of No Return, Southern Exposure, San Francisco, California. December 7 - 20, 2012. With Colleen Flaherty.
PLAYING THE GAME, Milan, Italy. October 26-27, 2012.
2011
DRODESERA 2011 Video Art Festival, Centrale Fies, Trento, Italy. July 22 - 30, 2011 With IOCOSE.
Game Arthritis, Matteo Bittanti & IOCOSE, Fabio Paris Art Gallery, Brescia, Milano. September 24 - November 11, 2011.
Speed Limits, Wolfsonian-Florida International University, Miami Beach, Florida. Curated by Jeffrey T. Schnapp. September 17, 2010 - February 20, 2011.
2010
HERE IN MY CAR - Beyond Autopia and Autogeddon, ArtCyte, Art Gallery of Windsor, Canada. January 15 - February 6, 2010.
2009
IO NON SONO MARINETTI (I am not Marinetti), Lynn Hershman Leeson, Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, California. January 15-18, 2009.
Speed Limits, Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA), Montreal, Canada. May 19 - October 12, 2009.
SELECTED CURATORIAL WORK
2022
How to Win at Photography with Marco De Mutiis, Photography's Gallery, London
VRAL, April 2020-
2021
MILAN MACHINIMA FESTIVAL, IULM, Milan, March 15 - 21 2021 (online)
How to Win at Photography with Marco De Mutiis, Fotomuseum, Winterthur, Switzerland, June 5 - October 10 2021
VRAL, April 2020
2020
MILAN MACHINIMA FESTIVAL, IULM, Milan, May 25 - May 30 2020 (online)
VRAL, April 2020-
GAME TALKS, IULM, Milan, various dates (2 events)
2019
MILAN MACHINIMA FESTIVAL, IULM, Milan, March 15 2019.
GAME TALKS, IULM, Milan, various dates (9 events)
2018
MILAN MACHINIMA FESTIVAL, IULM, Milan, March 16, 2018.
GAME TALKS, IULM, Milan, various dates (6 events)
2017
RE/PLAY. Reenactment Practices in Video Games, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, November 14, 2017.
HYPE, Marco Mendeni solo show, AmyD, Milan, Italy, May 29 - June 17, 2017.
2016
TRAVELOGUE, Palazzo Ducale, Mantua, Italy.
ARTCADE. THE PLAYFUL CITY with Italo Rota, Milan, Italy, June 27 - July 3, 2016.
New Directions, Contemporary Exhibition Hall, IULM, Milan, Italy.
GAME VIDEO/ART. A SURVEY, with Vincenzo Trione, Contemporary Exhibition Hall, IULM, Milan, Italy.
2015
Critique of Technological Reason with Gianni Canova, Triennale Design Museum, Milan, Italy
2014
GAMES PEOPLE PLAY: MARC KALINKA + MARCO MENDENI, THECA Gallery, Brussels Off Fair.
2013
DECEPTIVE PERCEPTIONS - DI/VISIONI PERSISTENTI, Marco Mendeni solo show @ Galleria Civica Campione d’Italia (Ita | Canton Ticino), Camera di Commercio dell’Uruguay (Saronno, Mi), .Box - Spazio internazionale per la video arte (Milano) in collaboration with Andrea Carlo Alpini, Alessandra Arno e Stefano Roberto Mazzatorta.
2012
Teh Italians Do It Better, Exhibition at the 52nd Edition of the Venice Biennial of Art, with Domenico Quaranta. Venice, Italy.
2008- 2010
The Tech Silicon Valley Innovation Gallery, Curator, Tech Museum, San José, California.
2008
Avatar, Società e Cultura nei Nuovi Mondi Virtuali, Scientific Board, Museo Tridentino di Scienza Naturali. Trento, Italy.
Metaverse U Conference, Organizing committee, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California.
2006
GameScapes. Videogame Landscapes and Simulated Cities, with Rosanna Pavoni & Domenico Quaranta. Monza, Italy.
The Technoludic Art of Mauro Ceolin, exhibition, with Pierluigi Casolari, IULM University, Milan, Italy.