Biography
Gianluca Iadema (b. 1996, Italy) is a composer, visual artist, and performer working with a transdisciplinary approach to music, video, and installation. His research-driven practice is informed by technology, architecture, and philosophy. He holistically explores sound, image, sculpture and light resulting in works straddling the categories of music, film, and installation art.
Through a conceptual lens, he explores themes of materiality and imperfection. He uses speculative narratives to subvert conventional meanings of objects and their interpretations. Within this ambiguity his work opens space for the imaginal and invites the observer into an open-ended, multi-sensorial exploration where discovery itself becomes the essence of the artwork.
In terms of sound, he focuses on the abstraction of different musical styles, such as techno, glitch and pop music, merged with contemporary classical concepts.
He holds a Master’s degree in Classical Piano Performance from the Conservatory of Brescia (Italy), where he studied with Maurizio Zana and Giampaolo Stuani. He also earned a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Music from the IEM – Institut für Elektronische Musik und Akustik (Austria), specializing in electronic and computer music as well as audiovisual art under the mentorship of Marko Ciciliani. Additionally, he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Classical Composition from the Kunstuniversität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Graz (Austria), studying with renowned composers such as Richard Dünser and Clemens Gadenstätter. In 2023, he graduated with honors from the Hochschule der Künste Bern (Switzerland), earning a Master’s degree in Composition and Creative Practice under the guidance of Simon Steen-Andersen. He has participated in masterclasses, including the Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik in Darmstadt (2014), working with renowned artists such as Curtis Roads, Matthew Shlomowitz, Stefano Gervasoni, Gerhard Eckel, Gilbert Nouno, Daniel Mayer, Bernhard Lang, and Alexander Stankovski, among others.
He has been commissioned, performed, collaborated and exhibited for renowned festivals, ensembles and gallery spaces such as Schallfeld Ensemble (Graz, 2018), Dedalo Ensemble (Brescia, 2016, 2017 and 2019) Nasimi Festival (Baku, 2018), Halle für Kunst Steiermark (Graz, 2018), ZKM (Karlsruhe, 2019), Wien Modern (Vienna, 2020), Recontemporary (Turin, 2022), Seeyousound (Turin, 2023), Klang festival (Copenhagen, 2023), Teatro Grande & Festa dell’ Opera (Brescia, 2023), Suburbia Contemporary for Loop Festival (Barcelona, 2023), Zone Digitali (Bergamo, 2023), ICTAF (Cape Town, 2024), Barcelona Gallery Weekend (Barcelona, 2024), Fondazione Recontemporary for Artissima Fair Beyond new visions (Turin, 2024), Future of Humanity art walk during WEF (Davos, 2025), Vision in motion in collaboration with Recontemporary (Cape Town, 2025) and Mater.ia at Milano Deisgn Week (Milan, 2025).
He is the winner of international composition prizes such as the Franz Schubert und die Musik der Moderne (Graz), as well as the recipient of the prestigious Giulio and Giulio Bruno Togni Prize (Brescia) for his promising artistic career.
In 2019, he released his first album ‘Aphàiresis’ for the historic record label Mille Plateaux, to be followed by ID[entità] in 2023, in collaboration with the Swiss singer Franziska Baumann. His performances and composition were broadcast by radio stations such as BBC, ORF and RTVE, among others. Articles about him and interviews have appeared in La Stampa, Il Sole 24 Ore, Corriere della Sera and Forbes Italia. His works are held in important collections such as Stefano Cecchi Trust Collection and Fondazione Recontemporary Collection, among others.