Pao

Biography

Pao was born in 1977 in Milan, where he lives and works.
He trained in the theatre as a stage-hand,  sound engineer and stage technician with the company of Franca Rame and Dario Fo. He studied and worked at the workshops of the Teatro alla Scala in Milan and in 2000 he carried out his first street art interventions. This is how the colorful penguins are born on roadside posts, " Pao Cola" cans and Campbell's soup on public baths, smile and billiard balls, dolphins and sharks, pelicans, daisies and much more.
In 2005 he founded Paopao Studio, as a natural consequence of his artistic activity and in a short time numerous collaborations with companies arrived, including Motta, Gatorade, Galatine, Seven, Harley Davidson, Accenture, Chicco, Ceres.

After meeting graphic designer Laura Pasquazzo, the studio further develops by operating in different fields, graphics, web design, set-ups and decorations, merchandise, production and promotion of objects.

In 2007, after the exhibition "Street Art Sweet Art", atPAC – Pavilion of Contemporary Art in Milan– Pao began working on canvas and three-dimensional fiberglass supports, thus developing new paths through experimentation on materials, prospective research, visual distortions and the use of curved geometries. Pao tries to overcome the two-dimensionality of the canvas, and in parallel, the three-dimensionality of our world.

The growing attention to his work, whose distinctive characteristics will remain constant, leads him to exhibit in public spaces, museums and private galleries, in Italy and abroad. He has exhibited his works in various art exhibitions including at the Pavilion of Contemporary Art in Milan, at the Triennale di Milano, at the Venice Biennale.