Roberta Orio is a photographer. She trained in Milan with AG Fronzoni and with Roberta Valtorta, whose student she was and with whom she maintains an ongoing relationship of dialogue and research; in Venice she met Luca Massimo Barbero. Both are central references for her. She has followed the creative experiences of several artists, including Cristiano Bianchin, Maria Grazia Rosin, and Mauro Staccioli.
Her research explores identity — of the photographer and of the subjects portrayed — and the relationship between body, people, and the spaces of life. She has exhibited in Italy and abroad — among international venues, the Gallery of Contemporary Art in Maribor (Slovenia), the Gottardo Gallery in Lugano (Switzerland) for Pagine di Fotografia Italiana, and the Seoul Contemporary Art Biennale — in institutions such as the Querini Stampalia Foundation, the Bevilacqua La Masa Foundation, the Venice Biennale, the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Cinisello Balsamo, and the Rome Quadrennial.
In 2023 she received the commission to document the Venice lagoon for the project Navigare l'arcipelago di Venezia. Storie lagunari per futuri sostenibili, curated by Ludovica Galeazzo; she collaborated with the Lino Tagliapietra Foundation on the exhibition L'origine del viaggio, Museo del '700 Ca' Rezzonico, Venice, later presented in 2024 at the Palazzo della Triennale in Milan; she exhibited some works at the exhibition Luca Massimo Barbero: Un Diavolo Amico, Venice Biennale Archive. In 2025 she was invited by Luca Massimo Barbero to the 18th Quadrennial of Art Fantastica in Rome; she received from MAD Architectsthe commission for photographic and video documentation of the Italy and China Pavilions of the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale, and produced the video interviews for the permanent exhibition of the National Museum of Underwater Archaeology of the Upper Adriatic with Studio Arguzia.
In 2026 she is invited by the Italian Cultural Institute of Paris to participate in the exhibition Mater(A) Materia and exhibits the projects Le Porte di San Marco from L'attesa and Risvegli//o at the Atelier Visconti Gallery in Paris.
Her works are held in numerous private and public collections, including: Mufoco – Museum of Contemporary Photography, the Lombardy Region Archive, the Milan City Archive, the Historical Archives of Contemporary Arts (ASAC) – Venice Biennale. She has taught Photography at the Politecnico di Milano.
Chronological list of solo and group exhibitions
1995
- I luoghi della vita – National ex aequo prize, Luigi Pecci Centre for Contemporary Art, Prato
- Dixie: dieci autori per Milano, curated by Moreno Gentili, Palazzo dell'Arengario, Milan
- Diari: iniziative di fotografia contemporanea, curated by Roberta Valtorta, Marangoni Foundation, Florence
- Modena Fotografia – research Kult, curated by Walter Guadagnini, Foro Boario, Modena
1996
- Spazi miei, curated by Chiara Bertola, Bevilacqua La Masa Foundation, Venice
1997
- Un luogo, texts by Massimo Cacciari and Daniele Del Giudice, Querini Stampalia Scientific Foundation, Venice, catalogue Art&
- Kult, codice umano, text by Corrado Levi, Eos Gallery, Milan
- Kult, codice umano, Arena della Vittoria, Bari
1998
- Pagine di fotografia italiana, curated by Roberta Valtorta, Gottardo Gallery, Lugano (Switzerland), catalogue Charta
- Follettiva, Spazio Domus, Via Manzoni, Milan, catalogue curated by Moreno Gentili
- Philip Morris Gallery, curated by Giovanna Calvenzi, Giò Marconi Gallery, Milan
- Tempi Comuni, curated by Riccardo Caldura, Gallery of Contemporary Art, Mestre-Venice
- Immaginando Tutto, curated by Chiara Bertola and Aurora Fonda, Gallery of Contemporary Art, Maribor (Slovenia)
1999
- Vie nuove. Volti e luoghi di Torviscosa – exhibition and photographic book
- Chimica Aperta – National prize, Museum of Science and Technology, Milan
2000
- Vita in Gondola, curated by Chiara Romanelli, Doge's Palace, Venice
- Seoul Contemporary Art Biennale (South Korea) – work Identità, invited by Luca Massimo Barbero, commissioner for Italy
- Cologne art fair with Artcore Gallery, Toronto
2001
- Furla Prize for Art, invited by Teresa Macrì
- Idea di Metropoli, Museum of Italian Photography, curated by Roberta Valtorta, project promoted by the Lombardy Region, the Province of Milan and the Municipality of Cinisello Balsamo, catalogue Silvana Editoriale
2002
- Verso il Futuro. Identità Italiane nell'Arte 1990-2002, curated by Costantino D'Orazio and Ludovico Pratesi, Museo del Corso, Rome, catalogue Charta
2006
- Which Venice/Quale Venezia, project for the Aurora Street Cultural Association, with the scientific committee of Roberta Valtorta and Mara Campana, projections on St Mark's Campanile, Venice
2008
- Which Venice/Quale Venezia, Bevilacqua La Masa Foundation, Venice, catalogue Aurora Street editions
2013
- Water Art – Oltre il Paesaggio Mistico, curated by Simonetta Gorreri, on the occasion of the 55th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale
2021
- Frammenti, Spazio Wannenes, Milan, during Design Week, invited by OperAperta
2022
- Materia, Spazio Banner, Milan, during Design Week, invited by OperAperta
2023
- Italia Cinquanta moda e design, Palazzo Attems, Gorizia
- Luca Massimo Barbero: Un Diavolo Amico, Portego di Ca' Giustinian, Venice Biennale Archive, catalogue Asac
- L'Origine del Viaggio, Lino Tagliapietra, Museo del '700, Ca' Rezzonico, Venice, catalogue Antiga
2024
- L'origine del viaggio, Lino Tagliapietra – book presentation, Palazzo della Triennale, Milan
2025
- 18th Quadrennial of Art Fantastica, Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Rome, catalogue Marsilio Arte
2026
- Mater(A) Materia, Italian Cultural Institute, Paris
- Le Porte di San Marco from L'attesa and Risvegli//o, Atelier Visconti Gallery, Paris
List of books and catalogues
- Kult, codice sacro, Humana project, curated by Moreno Gentili, published by Art&, 1996
- Un luogo, texts by Massimo Cacciari and Daniele Del Giudice, catalogue Art&, 1997
- Vie nuove. Volti e luoghi di Torviscosa, 1999
- In entrata e uscita, Mauro Staccioli, catalogue Charta, 2000
- Idea di Metropoli, catalogue Silvana Editoriale, 2001
- Verso il Futuro. Identità Italiane nell'Arte 1990-2002, catalogue Charta, 2002
- Which Venice/Quale Venezia, catalogue Aurora Street editions, 2008
- L'Origine del Viaggio, Lino Tagliapietra, catalogue Antiga, 2023
- L'origine del viaggio, Lino Tagliapietra, presented at the Triennale, Milan, 2024
- 18th Quadrennial of Art Fantastica, catalogue Marsilio Arte, 2025
List of public and private collections
Her works are held in numerous public and private collections, including:
- Mufoco – Museum of Contemporary Photography, Cinisello Balsamo, Milan
- Lombardy Region Archive
- Milan City Archive
- Lucio Fontana Foundation Archive, Milan
- Historical Archives of Contemporary Arts (ASAC) – Venice Biennale
- Numerous private collections
Photographic projects
- Kult (codice sacro, 1996; codice umano, 1997)
- Un luogo (1997)
- Vie nuove. Volti e luoghi di Torviscosa (1998-1999)
- Vita in Gondola (2000)
- Identità (2000, Seoul Biennale)
- Idea di Metropoli (2001)
- Frammenti (2004)
- Tra vecchie signore (2004)
- L'Arsenale (2005)
- Appunti (2006)
- Casanova. La mia spaventosa prigione (2006)
- Ritratti (2005-2008)
- Il volo del leone (2008)
- Casa di campagna (2016-2017)
- Cercando la luna (2017)
- Risveglio (2016-2019)
- Murano in Focus (2019-2022)
- Lo studio del Cavolo (2019-2022)
- L'attesa (2019-2022)
- Isole (2019-2022)
- Acqua (2019-2022)
- Materia (2019-2022)
- Cielo e Terra (2019-2022)
- Navigare l'arcipelago di Venezia (2023)