Mauro Reggiani biography

Mauro Reggiani was an Italian painter known for his contribution to geometric abstractionism . His life and artistic career were marked by a constant desire to explore new expressive forms and chromatic relationships, making him one of the pioneers of abstractionism in Italy. Born in Nonantola, in the province of Modena, in 1897, Mauro Reggiani showed a great interest in art from a young age. He attended the Royal Institute of Fine Arts in Modena from 1911 to 1919, where he studied figure and painting. However, his artistic training was momentarily interrupted when he was called to arms in 1917. In 1918, he entered the Cadet Pilot Aviator School of Caserta, but after the end of the war in 1919, he resumed his passion for painting.
In 1920, he opens a studio in Modena and paints a series of portraits. In the same period, he enrolled in the third year of the figure course at the Royal Institute of Fine Arts in Florence, where he became friends with artists such as Marino Marini and Giuseppe Graziosi . These years are characterized by the search for a personal expressive language and by the interest in the artists of the Novecento group.
In the 1930s, Mauro Reggiani gradually distanced himself from realistic and academic models and approached abstractionism, influenced by artists such as Cézanne, Kandinsky, and Max Ernst. In 1934, he participated in the first exhibition of Abstract Art in Italy at the Galleria del Milione in Milan, together with other artists, including Oreste Bogliardi and Virginio Ghiringhelli. This event marks the beginning of his career in geometric abstraction.
In the following decade, the 1940s, Mauro Reggiani continued his artistic research, participating in national and foreign exhibitions. However, the period was also marked by the tragic events of the Second World War, which forced him into a period of artistic inactivity. After the end of the conflict, he returned to Milan and started painting again.
In the 1950s, Mauro Reggiani joined the Concrete Art Movement (MAC), founded in Milan by Gillo Dorfles , Bruno Munari and Atanasio Soldati. His painting becomes more dynamic in composition and chromatically lively. He participates in numerous collective and personal exhibitions in Italy and abroad, receiving recognition and prizes for his contribution to abstract art. In the 60s and 70s, Mauro Reggiani's art continues to evolve, exploring new techniques and materials. Personal exhibitions take place in various Italian cities, and some retrospectives dedicated to his work are organized in important public spaces and art galleries. In 1980, at the age of 82, Mauro Reggiani died in his home of him in Milan. After his death, his daughter Virgilia Reggiani Simion collected and archived the material relating to her father's artistic activity to create the general catalog of his works, published in 1990 by the critic Luciano Caramel.
Mauro Reggiani was an artist visionary, always looking for new forms of expression and color relationships. His dedication to geometric abstraction made him a significant figure in the history of Italian art and a pioneer of abstract art in the country, together with other important artists such as Alberto Magnelli, Enrico Prampolini and Atanasio Soldati. His artistic legacy has been celebrated with numerous exhibitions and posthumous awards, demonstrating the lasting influence of his work on the Italian art scene.