About – FEDERICO FEDERICI

Federico Federici is a writer, artist and physicist working across poetry, visual art, installation, video and theoretical research. His practice investigates the limits of representation through language, matter, scientific models and systems of notation.

Trained as a physicist, he worked in biophysics and microscopy, with particular attention to image formation, measurement and the interpretation of complex visual data. Scientific models, mathematical structures and machine-generated texts are approached not as illustrations of reality, but as systems of inscription exposing the instability and the limits of representation.

His work includes poetry, visual and asemic writing, conceptual projects, installations, translations and interdisciplinary research. Across these fields, he explores traces, archives, memory, entropy, translation and the transformation of signs across media, languages and material supports.

Selected Publications

Books and projects published by Anterem, Aragno, Calamari Arↄhive, Conversation Paperpress, Elsevier Academic Press, Klak Verlag, La Camera Verde, La Vita Felice, Nervi Edizioni, Schöffling & Co., Via del Vento, Wiley, Zacinto, and other international publishers. His works have appeared in journals and anthologies including 3:AM Magazine, Art in America, Asymptote, AWartmag, Bau, Diagram, Diode, Il Verri, Jahrbuch der Lyrik, Le Monde Diplomatique, Poet Lore, SAND Berlin, Semicerchio, Smerilliana, The Dallas Review, The Manhattan Review, The Shanghai Literary Review, Unknown Quantities, and many others. [Complete List]

Major Awards

2022 · Profilo Minore, finalist, L’Aquila-BPER Prize
2020 · Lorenzo Montano Prize, L’intero della neve
2019 · The Nassau Review Writer’s Award
2017 · Lorenzo Montano Prize, Diario di alcune ore della notte
2016 · Elio Pagliarani Prize, Mrogn
2012 · Treviglio Poesia Prize: L’esorcismo contrario, shortlisted
2010 · Tre prose unite, finalist, Lorenzo Montano Prize
2009 · Lorenzo Montano Prize, L’opera racchiusa
2004 · Chiudi parola, Genoa International Poetry Festival Prize

Recent Grants

2025 · SFSIA, Centre des Récollets / Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris
2022 · Post-Medium Texts Fellowship
2021 · Asemic Arts Research Fellowship
2003 · INFM / University of Genoa Research Grant
2000-2001 · INFM / University of Genoa Research Gran

Archives and Collections

Bayerische Staatsbibliothek (München), Maramotti Library (Reggio Emilia), Vincenzo Agnetti Archive (Milan), Cy Twombly Foundation (Rome), Vittorio Emanuele III National Library (Naples), Foundation Berardelli’s Mail Art (Brescia), Foundation Bonotto (Vicenza), Emilio Isgrò Archive (Milan), Bruno Corà Archive (Rome), Centre d’Art Contemporain Genève (Geneva), Braidense Library (Milan), Poletti Library (Modena), National Central Library (Rome), National Central Library (Florence), Bartolo Cattafi Archive (Milan), La Casa Totiana, (Rome), Maurice Henry Archive (Milan), Achille Perilli Archive (Roma), Museo della Carale (Ivrea), Sforzesco Castle Art Library (Milan), P. Della Grazia Collection (Monza), F. and P. Gori Collection (Prato), R. Grassi Collection (Lucca), C. Palli Collection (Prato), G. Sassi Collection (Reggio Emilia), MACRO – Contemporary Art Museum (Rome), MART – Modern and Contemporary Art Museum (Trento and Rovereto), Casabianca Museum (Malo), Rivoli Castle Library (Rivoli) and in private collections in Europe, North America and Australia.