About Peeta
Manuel di Rita is a young Italian artist born in a small town near Venice (Italy). He started to write Peeta since the beginning of the 90es and soon became a well-known writer within the Italian graffiti scene, also thanks to his partnership with the Paduan EAD crew. He has approached different styles, and has finally elaborated a personal technique which takes inspiration from sculpture and industrial design and consists on a highly original execution of the 3D painting. His success as a graffiti writer has pushed him to exceed very soon the Italian boundary. He started travelling all around the US and Canada, spreading his art and reaching a huge popularity on an international scale, especially thanks to his participation to many graffiti contests, Meeting of Styles and personal and collective exhibitions. In respect to this, it is very useful to remember two important collaborations: the one with the FX crew (since 2003) and the other with the RWK crew (since 2006), both from New York. He’s completely into graffiti and painting, his passion has became a lifestyle and has been pushing him to continuously research, study and deepen his knowledge of new techniques, materials and shapes. The elaboration of his personal style came from the intention of joining together traditional lettering with 3D painting. This experiment has finally ended up in giving life to a unique kind of visual rhythm, created by the intersecting lines between sections of conic, cylindrical and twisting surfaces. The role of sculpture comes to be essential for this purpose. In fact, sculpture represents for the artist a direct contact with three-dimensionality and so it helps him to find nice 3D effects and to deeply understand the rules of light and shadows. If at the beginning of his career sculptures and canvases were considered only as means of technical exercise to finally paint on walls, they’ve then became work of art themselves. In this way his art has been able to reach a very bigger audience, getting to worldwide art galleries.
Most important events and pubblications:
2000
EAD crew member.
2001
Sculpture for Susan Farrell (artcrimes).
2002
FX crew member (New York).
Birth of his personal website: www.peeta.net.
Meeting of Styles tour:
-Antwerp, Belgium.
-Amsterdam, Netherlands.
August - 360 graffiti jam Sarbrueken, Germany.
August - graffiti jam Bremen, Germany.
2003
Interview for WS&TR (Italian version only)
Meeting of Styles tour:
Antwerp, Belgium.
-Pori, Finland
-Zagreb, Croatia
-Winterthur, Switzerland
-Wiesbaden, Germany
-New York, USA.
October - Graffiti jam Mexico City, Mexico DF.
2004
Meeting of Styles tour:
-Zagreb, Croatia
-Wiesbaden, Germany
-Mainz, Germany.
July - Cosmopolite festival Paris, France.
July - Urban Dream Charleroi, Belgium.
September - Hi-Fight Rome, Italy.
2005
Meeting of Styles tour:
-Zagreb, Croatia
-Wiesbaden, Germany
-Padova, Italy.
Publication: Groove, L’arte prende forma, article on sculpture.
May - jury for a graffiti contest in Catania, Italy.
June - Nd2nd graffiti jam, Nessebar, Bulgaria.
2006
Interview for Fatbombers.com (English and Italian version).
Meeting of Styles tour:
-Wiesbaden, Germany
-New York, Usa
-Chicago, Usa
-San Francisco, Usa
-Mexico City, Mexico DF
-Padova, Italy
-Varna, Bulgaria.
August - Balcan Express graffiti jam & exhibition Sarajevo, Bosnia.
November - Street art energy: Peeta & Totem exhibition, Tessaloniki, Greece.
2007
July - Meeting of Styles Padova, Italy.
May - Spray art convention and exhibition Pontedera, Italy.
September - Canvases exhibition at Megastore Gallery, The Hague, Netherlands.
October - Photo and canvases exhibition at Magazzini del Sale, Venice, Italy.
Dicember - Workshop with Loomit for young graffiti writers in Bogotà, Colombia.
2008
February- Article for Format Magazine (English version only).
February/ March - Guilty at the Dock , sculptures exhibition at Magazzini del Sale, Venice, Italy.
April - Peeta at Salone del mobile di Milano (international forniture fair, Milan), stand graphics for Casamania.
June - Canvases exhibit at Edgeart Gallery, Manchester, UK.
June - Pubblication on Graffiti Writing, book by Alessandro Mininno, Mondadori arte.
June - Cover for Abitare, issue 483 - interior design, architechture and art magazine. Made by Salottobuono.
June 28th-29th - One Mile Graffiti, writing contest, Vicenza, Italy.
August 1st - AKA Graffiti - sculptures and bikes exhibition at FIVEtenStudio art and forniture Gallery - Oakland, California, USA.
August 8th-9th-10th - Meeting of Styles, Mestre, Italy.
September 5th-6th-7th - Infart Collective art exhibition - Street wall painting and indoor exhibition at Civic Museum, Bassano del Grappa, Italy.
September 24th - Interview for koikoikoi.com (Italian version only) .
October 12th - Interview for DIaBEtic DEW555 blog (English version only).
October 19th - Masterplan Jam - Brescia, Italy.
2009
October 10th - Post - Collective exhibition, Scorzè, Italy.
October 30th - Sparkle and Fade solo exhibition at PrettyPortal Gallery, Düsseldorf, Germany
December 17th - Urban Painting XMAS Show, Milan, Italy.
2010
Graffiti Playground show and Auction, Marseille, France.
From January 8th to February 8th and from April 21st to May 15th- Merge - Collective exhibit at Ayden Gallery, Vancouver BC, Canada.
February 11th - March 13th - Void Of Hue exhibition at Baron Gallery
Gastown, Vancouver BC, Canada.
April 1st to May 30th - Group show at Backspace Gallery in Portland, Oregon, USA.
May 29th to July 24th - Contemporary art exhibition at Baron Gallery, Vancouver BC, Canada.
August 21st to September 18th - Peeta Solo Show at Da Bakery Gallery, New York, USA.
2011
December 17th 2010 to January 23rd 2011 - Peeta feat. Made514 show at Ayden Gallery, Vancouver BC, Canada.
February 14th to May 15th- Seven show at Ayden Gallery, Vancouver BC, Canada.
April 1st to April 30th- Never Say Die (RWK 10th anniversary) at Vincent Michael Gallery, Philadelphia, PA.
May 7th to May 29th- Seven dimensions - sculptures exhibition at Santa Maria delle Croci, Ravenna, Italy.
May 16th to May 22nd- live performances at Kosmos Kak..., Rizzordi Art Foundation loft, St. Petersbourg, Russia.
May 14th to June 4th - Peeta solo exhibition at Luxury Swapping, Treviso, Italy.
July 15th to August 5th - RWK show Too Busy To Die at Ayden Gallery, Vancouver, BC.
August 13th to August 16th - live performance at Kont, Tallin, Estonia.
September 9th to September 11th - Marbour Events show and auction at Marseille, France.
October 13th to October 16th - Moniker Art Fair London, UK.
October 14th to November 15th - Urbanize Me Padova, Italy.
October 28th to November 30th - Peeta Solo Show at Gallery H+ Lyon, France.
November 19th to December 28th - Ad Litteram Peeta and Joys show, Treviso, Italy.
Publication on Elrincondelasboquillas
Publication on Eimear design news
Publication on Scope Magazine
Publication on Art Jar studios
Publication on Hyde magazine
Publication on Tinta magazine, pages 54-63
Publication on Where magazine, click here and here to download PDF pages
Publication on Live in Style magazine (Russian version only)
Publication on Sanktpeterburg Bezformata magazine (Russian version only)
Publication on Art In Heart (Russian version only)
Publication on Rizzordi Art Foundation website (Russian version only)
Publication on Want magazine (English version only)
Publication on Cocacolla.it (Italian version only)