Davide Quayola was born in Rome in 1982. His mother, a passionate painter, fostered his interest in the arts from an early age and enrolled him at a traditional fine art high school in Rome. There, he learned visual analysis of paintings, describing classical works not through narratives but through light, color, and composition. Teachers made students flip paintings upside down to avoid being influenced by recognizable elements. Growing up surrounded by Rome’s rich cultural heritage left a deep impression, but at nineteen, he left for London to distance himself from Italy’s historic iconography and seek new subjects, a new language, and new means of expression.

He earned his degree in art from the University of London in 2005. His practice emerged at the intersection of technology and classical art. He employs custom computer software, high-precision 3D laser scanning, and digital tracking systems to explore tensions between the real and artificial, figurative and abstract, old and new. Hellenistic sculpture, Old Master painting, and Baroque architecture serve as departure points for abstract compositions created through algorithmic processes.

In 2010, he created Topologies, part of his Strata series, examining the relationship between contemporary digital aesthetics and iconic works of art. He took paintings by Velázquez and Tiepolo and transformed their surfaces into animated geometric forms. His Jardins d’Été (2017), first unveiled at Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire, emerged from a summer 2016 residency where he immersed himself in the château’s gardens. The work uses high-definition footage and image-manipulation algorithms to create digital landscapes that echo Impressionist aesthetics, particularly the later works of Monet.

In 2013, he received the Golden Nica at Prix Ars Electronica in Linz, Austria. In 2021, he received his first major museum solo exhibition at Palazzo Cipolla in Rome, displaying fourteen years of work. His practice also includes audiovisual performances, having collaborated with composers and musicians including London Contemporary Orchestra, National Orchestra of Bordeaux, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Vanessa Wagner, Jamie XX, and Plaid.

His work has been exhibited at V&A Museum London, Park Avenue Armory New York, National Art Center Tokyo, UCCA Beijing, SeMA Seoul, São Paulo Biennale, Milan Triennale, Palais de Tokyo Paris, State Hermitage Museum St. Petersburg, and many others. He has received commissions from public institutions including Notre-Dame in Paris and the Vatican. In 2024, he created Arborescent, a projection mapping performance at Casa Batlló in Barcelona that drew over 110,000 people, transforming Gaudí’s façade into a digital forest using algorithms and nature-inspired growth patterns.

His strengths: pioneering fusion of classical art analysis with computational processes, mastery of custom software creating works uniquely his rather than fabricated by assistants, ability to make algorithmic art visually fluent and contemplative, exploration of how machines observe and synthesize nature differently from humans.

Career highlights: Golden Nica at Prix Ars Electronica 2013, major solo exhibition at Palazzo Cipolla Rome 2021, Jardins d’Été at Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire, Arborescent projection at Casa Batlló drawing 110,000 viewers, collaborations with major orchestras and musicians, exhibitions at V&A Museum, Park Avenue Armory, São Paulo Biennale, commissions from Notre-Dame and Vatican, work in permanent collections across Europe and Asia.