Elio Marchegiani (Syracuse 1929)

In 1934 he was in Livorno with his family where he spent his childhood and youth. He began painting as a self-taught artist. By family tradition he completed classical studies and enrolled in the Faculty of Law at the University of Pisa. A meeting with Mario Nigro made him decide which path to take. He began to organise exhibitions and cultural meetings, but it was his acquaintance and friendship with Gianni Bertini that suggested he leave the province for an artistic adventure in Paris, Milan, Rome and Bologna. In 1959, he took part in the VIII Quadriennale in Rome. In Florence, he was part of the 'Group 70', beginning a close friendship with Giuseppe Chiari. In the meantime, an interest in the relationship between art and science grew in Marchegiani and became a constant in his work. During the 1960s, the Apollinaire gallery (Milan) directed by Guido Le Noci and the Obelisco gallery (Rome) directed by Gaspero Del Corso collaborated with him. In 1968 he received the gold medal of the A.I.C.A. prize (International Association of Art Critics chaired by Giulio Carlo Argan). Between 1971 and 1973, he made 'le gomme' (tyres), which were exhibited at the 1972 Venice Biennale. In the light of the principle 'do to make people think', he conceived the 'Colour Grammatures', a geometric-abstract synthesis of the Italian fresco in these years. After researching movement and light, he worked on the reconstruction of Giacomo Balla's 'Feu d'artifice'.From the turn of the century to the present day, his work has focused on three-dimensional and environmental works, and his 'Doing to make people think' devoted to a focus on the outside world, in the constant conviction that the artist must also tell the story of his own time.