Mattia Biagi’s work, such as the “Tar Teddy Bears,” causes a vivid and extreme visual impact.
Biagi’s idea of the TAR collection was born during a visit to the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles. Entranced by the texture of the mysterious tar bubbling up from the ground, he dipped his shoe into the tar and saw the juxtaposition of ancient and modern life in a moment of epiphany. Biagi’s TAR Collection transforms the familiar into the surreal. Each object is immersed in a special mixture of tar that Biagi has formulated in his studio. Every object reacts in a different way, thus he developed a special technique to immerse them in tar, creating various layers but maintaining the original shape. In order to contain the movement of the odiferous tar, Biagi then uses a specially formulated glaze. The darkness that covers these iconic objects immortalizes and connects them to a unique concept of aesthetic beauty.
“The TAR Collection” began with Biagi’s childhood love of dipping cookies into milk and has grown to the grim 21st century political impact that oil has on our everyday lives…
Biagi uses common objects and covers them in tar to both preserve them and to destroy them …just as we are doing with our planet. We strive to protect, but in fact we destroy.

• I was born in Italy in 1974 and early on I began a modeling career that brought me to acquire first hand experience in the fashion industry, not only with the major fashion houses but also with photographers, stylists, make-up artists and other professionals in the industry.
• After modeling, I attended I.R.F.A. an art and design school in Italy, and the prestigious Brera Academy of Arts.
• I participated in many internships throughout the major European capitals. Through my personal travel experiences I was exposed up to new cultures, freed from trends and stylistic restrictions. These experiences brought me to dedicate myself to art and design.
• I began to collaborate with noted design firms and participated in many art projects.
• I was as an apprentice for Giulio Cappellini (widely considered a major innovator in the modern design world), where I found my future artistic calling…Cappellini is present in more than 50 museums world wide…
• I like to be inspired by elaborate visual concepts learned through years of experience rather than in books. My passion for photography, fashion, art and architecture has influenced my esthetic taste -- refined but essential.

Solo Exhibitions
DEBORAH PAGE GALLERY -- Santa Monica 2007
TWENTIETH ART GALLERY -- Los Angeles 2005
DAO ART DESIGN -- Los Angeles CA 2005
CAPPELLINI ART DESIGN -- Los Angeles CA 2004
FLOU -- Los Angels CA 2004
DZINE ART DESIGN -- San Francisco CA 2004
LA CONCERIA ART GALLERY -- Milan IT 2004
MARCONI ART GALLERY -- Bologna IT 2004

Selected Group Exhibitions
THE BLACK MARKET SHOW -- AnnaKustera gallery N.Y 2007
HIGH AND DRY, SMOKE AND FOG -- Rodeo Drive, Los Angeles 2007
OBJECT ROTTERDAM -- Rotterdam, NL 2007
SHIPPENSBURG UNIVERSITY -- Shippensburg, PA 2007
STEPHEN F. AUSTIN STATE UNIVERSITY -- Texas, TX 2007
HARPER COLLEG -- Palatine, IL 2007
RED DOT -- New York, N.Y 2006
PATRICIA FAURE GALLERY -- Bergamot Station- Santa Monica, CA 2006
GHETTOGLOSS -- Silver Lake, CA 2006
ART BASEL -- Miami, FL 2006
ROSE GALLERY -- Venice Beach, CA 2005
DON O MELVENY GALLERY -- Los Angeles CA 2005
ART WALK LACMA MUSEUM -- Los Angeles CA 2005
ART GALLERY OF LUCA -- Florence IT 2003
MAFFI GALLERY -- Rome IT 2003