Giorgio Tonelli
Brescia, 1941
The pictorial language of Giorgio Tonelli is characterized by clean, clear, synthetic, and balanced forms. The landscape, a theme dear to him, is expressed in various types: from cities to plains to the coastline of Ragusa. The places he paints are places of the soul, suspended in a time that seems to appear motionless. The play of light and precise brushstrokes provide a lucid visual synthesis of landscapes frozen in memory. He was born in 1941 in Brescia.
In 1974, he began painting and attended the studio of Gianfranco Ferroni. From 1976 to 1983, he lived in London, while from 1983 to 1985, he resided between Paris, New York, and Venice. In 1987, he permanently moved to Bologna, where he held numerous solo and group exhibitions throughout Italy. Among the most important are "Arte Italiana – 1968/2007," curated by Vittorio Sgarbi, held at Palazzo Reale in Milan, and "Natura Morta," curated by Marilena Pasquali at the Ragghianti Foundation in Lucca in 2007. In the same year, he exhibited at the PAC in Milan, while in 2008, he participated in the exhibition "Galleria Forni and Galleria Stefano Forni: a History of Figurative Art since 1967," organized by Mambo (Museum of Modern Art in Bologna) at the Villa delle Rose. In 2011, he was invited to participate in the 54th Venice Biennale, in the Italian pavilion. Since 1994, he has been present at all editions of Arte Fiera Bologna. In 2012, he exhibited as part of the exhibition "Nel segno dell’immagine" at the Rimini Museum with the show "Inattuali." In 2014, he was invited to participate in the exhibition "La resistenza della pittura" at the Civic Museum of Asolo. In 2018, he won the The Bank award, established by GrandArt Milan. Recently, he held a solo exhibition titled “Giorgio Tonelli e la Metacosa” at the Pinacoteca of Ascoli Piceno, as part of La Milanesiana 2024, curated by Elisabetta Sgarbi. His artistic career is marked by a constant commitment and profound research, which have led him to become a prominent figure in the contemporary Italian art scene. He lives and works in Bologna.
