Guido Zappoli

Guido Zappoli was born in 1967 in Bologna, “in the shadow of the Two Towers." He signs his contemporary artworks under the pseudonym ZapArt. His work combines genuine craftsmanship with a symbolic vision. His material of choice is leather, which he die-cuts, heat-moulds, crumples, gathers and hand-stitches onto canvas or leather backings. More recently, he has added vinyl and resin to his palette.

The school of fish, a central motif
The school of fish recurs in almost all of his work. Hundreds of small, colourful fish come together in geometric mosaics to form a large predator (El Desayuno) or a red heart beating against a black background (El Corazón, Cupído). Through this motif, ZapArt reverses the balance of power: the fragile individual finds strength in the collective, and love becomes the energy that brings order to chaos.

Leather, worked like couture fabric
In the floral series, his technique comes close to haute couture. For Letra, Guido designs and shapes leather flowers, which his wife then patiently hand-stitches to form the letters of the alphabet. Flores de Cala, Mariposa (made of hundreds of tiny stitched butterflies), as well as Ella and Ellas, play with relief, light and volume. Two works, Flowers Power and Viva la Vida, were born from a rare encounter: a designer who handcrafted flowers for major haute couture houses for 35 years. ZapArt gave a second life to the one-of-a-kind samples from her drawers. These materials can no longer be found today, which makes these pieces impossible to reproduce.

Towards pop and resin
In 2025, the Anómalo and Optimismo Colectivo series opened a new chapter. Airbrushed backgrounds, crisply cut vinyl silhouettes and a pour of clear, glass-effect resin give his compositions a graphic, almost digital look, without losing the precision of the handmade gesture.

Spanish titles
His works bear Spanish titles in tribute to his friend and collaborator Adriano, whose thirty years in Mexico deeply shaped his imagination.

Career and awards
With the LMquadrinpelle project, ZapArt has exhibited at numerous national and international art fairs. In 2024, at ArtePadova, he took 4th place in the 12th edition of the Contemporary Art Talent prize.