Mimmo Paladino, Untitled, 1983, Watercolor, Chalk & Ink on Paper

Mimmo Paladino

Paduli 1948

untitled, 1983

Watercolor, chalk and ink on ivory Fabriano paper (watermark)

Monogrammed lower right and dated (19)83

Sheet size: 48 x 65 cm

Frame: 71,5 x 90,5 cm

Provenance: Galerie Thomas Munich, Villa Grisebach Berlin



Authenticity is guaranteed.



Born Domenico Paladino in Paduli near Benevento, the young Paladino came into contact with art at an early age. His first encounter took place at the home of his uncle, a painter, who introduced him to traditional and contemporary painting. In 1964 Paladino visits the Venice Biennale, where he is particularly impressed by the works of Claes Oldenburg and Jim Dine. In the same year he enrolled at the Benevento School of Art and began his work with non-representational painting using collage elements. At that time, the works of Max Ernst and Paul Klee in particular found the young artist's admiration. After completing his studies in 1968, Paladino renounced further academic studies and decided to continue his education autodidactically. Inspired by mythological motifs, he devotes himself exclusively to drawing in the early 1970s. Paladino's first exhibition took place in 1977 at the Lucio Amelio Gallery in Naples. Here he developed the idea of drawing in a holistic form by painting an entire wall fresco-like with pastel colors. His work is accompanied by several trips to Milan, where he makes the acquaintance of the critic Tommaso Trini and his later gallerist Franco Toselli, among others. In 1978 Paladino presented for the first time in the Franco Toselli Gallery the works and murals that were to remain formative for his further work. In the same year Paladino travels to New York for the first time. In 1980 he publishes a book with texts by Achille Bonito Oliva together with the publisher Emilio Mazzoli, Modena. In the early 1980s he travels to Brazil several times. Paladino has been represented at numerous international exhibitions since the mid-1970s, including the Venice Biennale in 1980, Sydney in 1982, and documenta 7 in Kassel in the same year. Today Mimmo Paladino is one of the main representatives of the Italian Transavanguardia around Clemente, Cucchi and Chia.