Cristina Burns (b. 1982, Spain) is an Italian-American artist who lives and works in Naples. She builds sugar-coated nightmares: meticulously staged photographs in which advertising-bright palettes, candy-coloured objects, found materials, and scientific references conceal narratives of consumption, control, and psychological decay. Her images seduce at first glance and unsettle on closer inspection, asking the viewer to read history, desire, and unease on the surface of things.
Rooted in staged photography, her practice extends into digital collage and sculptural installation. Her work has been presented at PAN Palazzo delle Arti Napoli, Museo del Revellín (Ceuta, Spain), the Koehnline Museum of Art (USA), the Arsenale di Venezia, and PhotoVogue Festival (Milan), and is held in permanent public collections in Naples and Spain.
Her long-term project The Lost Venus, created with SICPRE (the Italian Society of Plastic Surgery) to confront female genital mutilation, has been presented at the Italian Senate, the Italian Embassy in London, and within UNESCO's International Day of Women and Girls in Science programme.
The Lost Venus (2019–present)
Ongoing collaboration with SICPRE (Italian Society of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery) against Female Genital Mutilation. Presented at the Italian Senate, Rome (2023); the Italian Embassy, London (2026); UNESCO’s International Day of Women and Girls in Science, Federico II University, Naples (2025); the University of Padua, Palazzo Bo (2022); and the University of Palermo (2024).
Ongoing collaboration with SICPRE (Italian Society of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery) against Female Genital Mutilation. Presented at the Italian Senate, Rome (2023); the Italian Embassy, London (2026); UNESCO’s International Day of Women and Girls in Science, Federico II University, Naples (2025); the University of Padua, Palazzo Bo (2022); and the University of Palermo (2024).
Candy Girl (2018)
Official image of Regione Lombardia’s campaign for the Memorial Day of Women Victims of the Mafia, presented at Palazzo Pirelli, Milan.
Official image of Regione Lombardia’s campaign for the Memorial Day of Women Victims of the Mafia, presented at Palazzo Pirelli, Milan.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2024–25 | Dulce Engaño, Museo del Revellín, Ceuta, Spain.
2024 | Dulce Engaño, Centro Cultural Alfonso X El Sabio, Spain
2021 | Escapism, Royal Palace of Carditello, Italy.
2018 | CandyLand, PAN — Palazzo delle Arti Napoli, Italy.
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2026 | Aesthetica Art Prize, York Art Gallery, UK, Longlist - digital presentation, 16 July - 15 November
2024 | Center Forward, Center for Fine Art Photography, Colorado, USA.
2024 | Aesthetica Art Prize, York Art Gallery, UK, Longlist, digital presentation
2023 | Don’t Drag Me Down, Koehnline Museum of Art, USA.
2023 | Arte Laguna Prize, Arsenale di Venezia, Italy.
2014–17 | PhotoVogue Festival, BASE Milano; 45 Frames from PhotoVogue, Leica Gallery; An Iconic View of White, Vogue Italia & Porsche Design, Milan.
RECOGNITION & PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Public Collections Permanent public art collection, Naples Metro — Vanvitelli Art Station, Italy (2017)
Municipal collection, Ayuntamiento de El Puerto de Santa María, Spain
Awards Longlist, Aesthetica Art Prize (2024, 2026) Finalist, Arte Laguna Prize (2023) Winner, Premio Raffaele Pezzuti per l'Arte, Naples (2017)
Editorial Long-standing collaboration with Vogue Italia / PhotoVogue: named among PhotoVogue's ten most representative still-life photographers (2016); Best of PhotoVogue Top 100; featured artist on Vogue.it.
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY & PUBLICATIONS
Catalogues & Books: Dulce Engaño (Ayuntamiento de El Puerto de Santa María); Don't Drag Me Down (Koehnline Museum of Art, USA); Anatomy Rocks (Cernunnos); PhotoVogue Festival Book (Vogue Italia / Huawei).
Press: Vogue Italia, Vanity Fair, Forbes, La Repubblica, El Mundo, Plastik Magazine, La Cucina Italiana, L'Œil de la Photographie, Panorama.
For inquiries or collaborations: info@cristinaburns.com | @cristina.burns