Mimmo Paladino biography

- MIMMO PALADINO PAINTER

 

Mimmo Paladino is a renowned Italian painter, sculptor, and engraver. Born in Paduli, near Benevento in 1948, he is considered one of the main exponents of the Italian Transavantgarde, an artistic movement that reached its peak in the 1980s. The Transavantgarde, theorized and promoted by Achille Bonito Oliva, aimed to represent a return to painting after the conceptual experiments of the 1970s.

From a young age, Mimmo Paladino was introduced to the world of art thanks to his paternal uncle, Salvatore, who was a painter. This sparked an early interest in art, which further developed during his years at the Liceo Artistico di Benevento and during visits to the Galleria di Lucio Amelio in Naples, where he met the painter Antonio Del Donno.

In 1964, together with Del Donno, he visits the Venice Biennale for the first time, becoming fascinated by American pop artists. In 1968, Mimmo Paladino holds his first exhibition at the Galleria Carolina di Portici in Naples, where he was introduced by a young Achille Bonito Oliva. From that moment on, Bonito Oliva will accompany Mimmo Paladino as an art critic throughout his career, including his participation in the Transavanguardia.

Following the artistic trends of the time, dominated by a predominantly conceptual orientation, Mimmo Paladino became interested in photography and exhibited photographic works at the Galleria Nuovi Strumenti in Brescia.

In the 1970s, after moving to Milan, Mimmo Paladino experienced the artistic fervor of the city, contemplating new directions his work could take. It was during this period that he began to explore painting and pictorial figuration, abandoning the predominantly conceptual approach. He started exhibiting in important group shows, including the Venice Biennale in 1980, where the Transavanguardia was officially presented.

His works, such as I giardini dei sentieri che si biforcano and Lampeggiante e una porta, have been exhibited in various European cities, marking the beginning of his international success.

Paladino's passion for drawing has evolved over the years into a great passion for engraving. He has experimented with various techniques such as etching, aquatint, woodcut, and linocut, achieving extraordinary results in this artistic field. He also created his first book-object titled EN DE RE in 1980, which marked a further development in his career.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Mimmo Paladino continued to explore new artistic directions and held numerous solo and group exhibitions around the world. He exhibited at important institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and created monumental installations in public spaces.

His works, characterized by a combination of figurative and symbolic elements, have aroused great interest both nationally and internationally. Mimmo Paladino has also collaborated with the theater world, creating sets for various productions. His art has embraced various media, including painting, sculpture, engraving, and installations, demonstrating great versatility and creativity throughout his career.

Today, the works of Mimmo Paladino are present in important international museums and are considered an integral part of the Italian contemporary artistic heritage.