The infamous Italian duo Eva and Fraco Mattes will present a series of works in their trickster vain of conceptual art and tactical media.

Eva and Franco Mattes (1976) are an artist duo originally from Italy, working in New York. Their medium is a combination of performance, video and the Internet, for which they are perhaps best known. Their work explores ethical and moral issues when people interact at distance, especially through social media, creating situations where it is difficult to distinguish reality from a simulation.

Melissa Gronlund, editor of Afterall Magazine, described Mattes’ work as follows: “Whether by obscuring the name of the author, hiding information from the public or presenting false information to (often unwitting) participants in the works they create, the Mattes set up situations in which the viewer’s mistaken assumptions and actions create the form of the work itself”.

Mattes’ work has been exhibited at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (2013); Site Santa Fe (2012); Sundance Film Festival (2012); PS1, New York (2009); Performa, New York (2007, 2009); ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum (2009); National Art Museum of China, Beijing (2008); The New Museum, New York (2005) and Manifesta 4, Frankfurt (2002). In 2001 they were among the youngest artists ever included in the Venice Bienniale.

They have also held conferences at universities, festivals and museums, including Columbia University, New York; RISD, Providence; New York University; Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh; College Art Association, New York; Museo Reina Sofia, Madrid; MAXXI, Rome and Musee d’Art Moderne, Paris.

They are founders and co-directors of the international festival The Influencers, held annually at the CCCB, Barcelona, Spain (2004-ongoing).

The Mattes have received grants from the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; The Museum of Contemporary Art, Roskilde; ICC, Tokyo, and were awarded the New York Prize 2006 from the Italian Academy at Columbia University.