Adriana Iezzi

Research on the major artistic expressions of contemporary Chinese calligraphy that depart from traditional calligraphic practice, with particular attention to the aesthetic, conceptual, and material innovations that have characterized artistic production from the second half of the twentieth century onwards. This research examines the poetics, aesthetics, techniques, and styles of contemporary artists and calligraphers, exploring the intersections between calligraphy, visual arts, performance, design, music, digital media, and other interdisciplinary artistic practices. A further area of investigation concerns the critical debate—particularly among Chinese scholars and art critics—on the definition of contemporary Chinese calligraphy and the classification of its emerging artistic forms.

Research on graffiti and street art practices in contemporary China, focusing on the work of leading writers, graffiti crews, and urban contexts in which these phenomena have developed. Particular attention is devoted to the interactions between graffiti, traditional Chinese calligraphy, and painting, examining the use of Chinese characters as visual and cultural markers and the search for a distinctive "Chinese style" within global graffiti culture. The research also investigates textual graffiti and other forms of public writing, addressing their social, cultural, and aesthetic significance in contemporary Chinese society.

Research on the specialized languages surrounding contemporary Chinese calligraphy and graffiti through the analysis of terminology, neologisms, critical discourses, and theoretical concepts that have emerged since the 1980s. Particular attention is paid to the translation of the linguistic, cultural, and aesthetic dimensions of calligraphic and graffiti artworks, as well as to the challenges posed by translating artistic terminology, culturally specific references, and the visual components of writing. This research also develops translation strategies for communicating contemporary Chinese art in academic, museum, and exhibition contexts.

Research on the development of digital methodologies and tools for the documentation, representation, and dissemination of cultural heritage, with a particular focus on contemporary Chinese art and new forms of Chinese calligraphy. This research addresses semantic digital archives, knowledge representation, ontology design, and Linked Open Data technologies, exploring how Digital Humanities approaches can support the study, preservation, and promotion of artistic and cultural heritage. A major outcome of this research is the development of WenDAng – WRITE Digital Archive, a semantic digital archive dedicated to the documentation and knowledge representation of contemporary Chinese calligraphy.