In my opinion if the Artist is living, you should use the present tense to
enumerate what that person is, (he is a artist that does ...., etc.) and the
'passato prossimo' for the things done and finished.
I would not use 'passato prossimo' always for a living person, the reader will ask himself : is the Artist still living ?
Also forms like:
/ABC e` attualmente impegnato in this and that project/
/ABC sta progettando this and that / (gerundio)
could be used for a living person.