Denicolai & Provoost

Simona Denicolai (1972, Milan, IT) and Ivo Provoost (1974, Diksmuide, BE).

DENICOLAI & PROVOOST have been working together since 1997. Moving away from conventional artistic forms, they produce serious, precise work that—in a sociological sense—observes and analyzes economic facts and social realities. These observations manifest in an almost mischievous way, often giving rise to imagery that brings underlying complexities to the surface. Their practice incorporates the full spectrum of media coverage as a tool within their artistic strategy.” (Konstanze Shütze).

As multidisciplinary artists, the Italian-Belgian duo Denicolai & Provoost work with—though are not limited to—animation, objects, installations, performance, video, and publishing.
They frequently initiate collaborative, process-based protocols—sometimes long-term, sometimes in the form of one-off performances—that involve partnerships and complicity with individuals or groups not necessarily linked to the art world, yet who are nonetheless integral components of the world around us.
They often take existing elements from a given context—combining, separating, or reassembling them—to formulate a new, unique language. They function primarily as intermediaries between the various components of a context, fostering dialogue through their own specific forms.
It is this role of the intermediary—or "curator of reality"—that interests them most. What is the role of the artist within the city, or the public sphere?
Within the aesthetic and political intimacy of their own artistic "digestion" process, Denicolai & Provoost interrogate the freedom granted to artists in our Western, ostensibly democratic, societies. Their work encompasses the full spectrum of media coverage possibilities, serving as tools to construct their own universe.

Their work is held in both private and public collections, including—in Belgium—Mu.ZEE (Ostend), S.M.A.K. (Ghent), Netwerk (Aalst), MAC's Grand-Hornu (Hornu), BPS22 (Charleroi), the Centre de la Gravure et de l'Image Imprimée (La Louvière), and KANAL (Brussels); and—in France—FRAC Île-de-France (Le Plateau, Paris), Frac des Pays de la Loire (Carquefou), FRAC Haute-Normandie (Rouen), Frac Bourgogne (Dijon), and the Institut d'Art Contemporain (IAC, Villeurbanne). It is also featured at Bozar (Brussels).

The collective comprising Denicolai & Provoost, Antoinette Jattiot, Nord, and Spec uloos represented Belgium at the 60th Venice Biennale in 2024 with the project "Petticoat Government."