Claudio Olivieri

Claudio Olivieri was born in Rome in 1934.

Following his father's death and the outbreak of World War II, he moved to Mantua, his mother's hometown, where he spent his childhood and adolescence. It was during this time, amid uncertainty and change, that he discovered his passion for drawing. In 1953, he began attending the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan, a city where he would spend most of his life.

Olivieri's painting technique was based on the elimination of defined lines and brushstrokes, favoring instead a spray-like application of paint. This method gave his works fluid, ethereal forms and colors, embodying his concept of artistic freedom. Through this approach, he sought to capture the ineffable, creating luminous, almost otherworldly color bodies that evoke emotion in the viewer.

For Olivieri, the canvas was a space for experimentation, where dynamic color fields clashed and eventually found chromatic and intellectual balance. Color became a crucial element, taking on materiality. While in the 1970s he favored darker tones, his later works transitioned to lighter, more delicate hues, such as yellow, blue, and gray. His exploration of color was deeply tied to his vision of light as a substance that shapes the world.

From 1993 to 2011, Olivieri served as Chair of Visual Arts and Painting at the Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti (NABA) in Milan. He passed away in 2019, continuing to pursue his ideal of artistic freedom through a constantly evolving technique.

Olivieri participated in Documenta 6 in Kassel in 1977 and several editions of the Venice Biennale (1966, 1980, 1986, and 1990). His works are part of the permanent collections of major cultural institutions, including the Galleria d'Arte Moderna in Turin, Museo del Novecento in Milan, Gallerie d'Italia in Milan, MART in Rovereto, MAMBO in Bologna, and UCLA in Los Angeles.

Submitted by Glenda Cinquegrana Art Consulting