Enrico Della Torre biography

Enrico Della Torre was an Italian painter and engraver among the main exponents of Italian Informal Art. He was born in Pizzighettone, in the province of Cremona, in 1931. He studied first at the Liceo Artistico and then at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, attending the school of Achille Funi. In 1954 he attended the Painting School of Roberto Melli in Rome.
In 1953 he created paintings and engravings characterized by an informal naturalism inspired by the landscapes of his countryside in the Po Valley but also by the reading of texts by the critic Francesco Arcangeli.
These works were later exhibited in 1956 in a solo show at the Galleria dell'Ariete di Milano, curated by Guido Ballo. The same year he also exhibited at the Galleria del Circolo di Cultura di Bologna.
After a trip to Paris, he began a new series of paintings characterized by horizontal parallel lines drawn on light and clear surfaces. In 1959, he instead created paintings rhythmically marked by black diagonals.
In 1961 he exhibited at the Galleria George Lester di Roma together with Claudio Olivieri, and in 1963 he held a solo show at the Galleria del Milione, presented in the catalog by Roberto Tassi. Between 1964 and 1967 he exhibited at the Justus Liebig Universität di Giessen, at the Galleria Ciranna di Milano, at the Biblioteca Comunale di Palazzo Sormani a Milano, and at the Galleria Morone 6 always in Milan.
Starting from 1968, Enrico Della Torre's works became populated with characters, animals, and visions with a lyrical-naturalistic taste.
He continued to exhibit in solo and group shows in Italy and abroad. In 1987, a large retrospective was dedicated to him, organized by Erich Steingräber and Annegret Hoberg in Germany. In 1989, the PAC, Padiglione d'Arte Contemporanea di Milano, also dedicated a solo exhibition of works on paper to him.
In 2011 he participated in the 54th edition of the Venice Biennale.<
Enrico Della Torre died in 2022 in Teglio in Valtellina, where for many years he spent part of his time among the quiet of the mountains.