Antonio Barrese was born in Milan in 1945.
He finished his studies at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Brera.
In 1963 he founded Gruppo MID, and remained a member of the group until 1972.
In MID, Barrese created objects and structures, interactive kinetic installations, photographs and experimental films, spectacles of visualacoustic synesthesia, and ambient projects.
In 1964, he joined the Nouvelle Tendence movement, which brought together artists of the international avant garde.
He participated in hundreds of exhibitions, both in Italy and abroad, in galleries and museums.
The work of those years is documented in the monograph: MID Alle origini della multimedialità. Dall'arte programmata all'arte interattiva (A. Barrese e A. Marangoni, Silvana editoriale, Milan, 2007).
1972/2010
He was continuously committed to strategic design and communication.
1972
He founded the study PRO — Programma & Progetto, the first professional structure in Italy of a multi-professional and interdisciplinary nature.
1979
He opened Barrese — Immagine coordinata, a pioneer design studio that worked in the theorization and design of corporate image, as well as complex communication systems.
1995
He founded Barrese & Buddensieg — Strategic and Communication Design.
In these years, Barrese received numerous awards, including seven Compasso d'Oro as well as honorable mentions and nominations.
1979/1981
He was a member of the steering committee of the ADI —Associazione per it Disegno Industriale.
1985/2005
Alongside other professional and artistic endeavors, he dedicated himself to Narrativa visuale.
This poetic work was integrated with one specific research into the expressive potential of computers and digitalism.
2000
He resumed his artistic work with participation in all the major exhibitions of kinetic art in Italy and abroad and, since 2005, this activity has been ongoing.
2006...
He carried out entirely unprecedented research.
Recent works were based on a rich and comprehensive principle of interactivity, made possible in part by advances in electronic and digital technologies.
Lighting objects
Objects that employ light tracing, activatable and accessible by the viewer.
Sparkling objects
Objects that make direct use of electric energy to produce sparks and arcing effects.
These objects too are activatable and can be used by the viewer.
Structures and installations
Large works of art featuring immersive interactivity, in an ambient or urban style, that use light, electricity, and digital media.
Geographical art installations
Large terrestrial-scale operations.