Bruno Ceccobelli biography

Bruno Ceccobelli is an Italian painter and sculptor. He was born on September 2, 1952, in Montecastello di Vibio, near Todi. He moved to Rome and studied at the Academy of Fine Arts, where he was a student of Toti Scialoja, from whom he learned the theoretical and practical foundations of abstract art. His artistic research, which starts from abstractism and shares some characteristics of Arte Povera, fits into the broader context of the return to painting that characterizes the artists of his generation. However, through the study of theosophy, alchemy, and Eastern philosophies, such as Zen and Taoism, Bruno Ceccobelli arrives at his own spiritual and sacred symbolism that distinguishes him from the aforementioned artistic currents.
From the second half of the Seventies, together with Piero Pizzi Cannella, Gianni Dessì, Nunzio Di Stefano, Domenico Bianchi, Giuseppe Gallo, he settles in the ex-pastificio Cerere, in the San Lorenzo district of Rome. This group of young artists soon becomes known as the Nuova Scuola Romana or San Lorenzo Group or Officina San Lorenzo.
In 1975, Bruno Ceccobelli exhibits for the first time in a group exhibition at the Albach Town Hall, in Austria and, two years later, holds his first solo exhibition at the Galleria Spazio Alternativo in Rome.
In 1979 the artist exhibits at the Festival of Italian Culture in Belgrade and, subsequently, in some group exhibitions in France, Germany, and Croatia. In particular, at Yvon Lambert in Paris he exhibits the artwork Morpheus, a work articulated in different elements united by a symbolic link.
In 1984 he participates in the exhibition Ateliers, curated by critic Achille Bonito Oliva, in which the artists of the ex-pastificio Cerere open their studios to the public. This collective exhibition contributes to the affirmation of the San Lorenzo Group on the international art scene. In the same year, Bruno Ceccobelli is invited to the Venice Biennale, with artworks exhibited in the Aperto '84 section. In 1986 he is invited for the second time to the Venice Biennale, with a room in the Art and Alchemy section curated by Arturo Schwarz.
The eighties and nineties see him engaged in numerous national and international exhibitions. In 1996 he participates in the Quadriennale di Roma and in 1999 he takes part in the Progetto Arte Roma competition and wins it with the creation of a large mosaic for the decoration of the EUR Fermi station of the Rome metro.
Bruno Ceccobelli currently lives and works in Montemolino near Todi.