Giulio Paolini Italian, b. 1940
The major retrospectives include Palazzo della Pilotta in Parma (1976), the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam (1980), the Nouveau Musée in Villeurbanne (1984), the Staatsgalerie in Stuttgart (1986), the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna in Rome (1988), the Neue Galerie am Landesmuseum Joanneum in Graz (1998), the Fondazione Prada in Milan (2003), the Kunstmuseum in Winterthur (2005) and the Whitechapel Gallery in London (2014).
He has taken part in a number of Arte povera exhibitions, and on several occasions has shown his work at Documenta in Kassel (1972, 1977, 1982, 1992), and at the Venice Biennale (1970, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1984, 1986, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2013).
His work is represented in many international public collections.
Nel museo senza muse, brought out in 2006 by the same publisher, and L'autore che credeva di esistere, published by Johan & Levi (Milan) in 2012.
Associated with both Arte Povera and Conceptual Art, Giulio Paolini started his journey in the arts as a graphic designer to later on in his career embracing sculpture, painting, and more recently, photography and collage. His early works reacted against his perception of the beauty of Art Informel, and focused instead on the material and formal components of painting, like the canvas and the frame. He was known at times to eschew the use of paint in favor of bare surfaces. Starting in the 1970s, his works became more conceptual, focused on the systems of creating and exhibiting art. Paolini also designed sets and costumes for theater, notably for director Carlo Quartucci, as well as Frederico Tiezzi’s versions of Richard Wagner’s operas.
He has taken part in a number of Arte povera exhibitions, and on several occasions has shown his work at Documenta in Kassel (1972, 1977, 1982, 1992), and at the Venice Biennale (1970, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1984, 1986, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2013).
His work is represented in many international public collections.