Biography
Andrea Martinelli was born in Prato on March 12, 1965, where he currently lives and works.
After graduating from the Istituto d’Arte di Porta Romana in Florence, he won the “Tito Conti” award in 1988. This award, given by the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno, granted him a prestigious studio in Piazza Donatello in Florence for five years as a scholarship. From 1992 to 1993, he intensely painted a series of works titled “Senescenze” (Senescences), which caught the attention of the art critic and historian Giovanni Testori. These works were first exhibited in Florence at the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno and later in Milan at the Compagnia del Disegno. This marked the beginning of a series of significant solo and group exhibitions in important public and private venues both in Italy and abroad. Notable among these are solo exhibitions at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, the Frissiras Museum in Athens, the Scheringa Museum in Amsterdam, the Panorama Museum in Bad Frankenhausen, Germany, the Fondation Rustin in Antwerp, and the Museo della Permanente in Milan.
In 2003 and 2011, Martinelli participated in the International Exhibition of the Venice Biennale. Also in 2011, the Italy Pavilion, directed by Vittorio Sgarbi, promoted his solo exhibition at the Museo Pecci in Milan on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy. The year 2018 was marked by two major events. In March, an anthology of his works was inaugurated at Palazzo Ducale in Urbino, curated by Vittorio Sgarbi, titled “L’ombra, gli occhi e la notte” (The Shadow, the Eyes, and the Night). In July, a solo exhibition titled “Guardami e ti dirò chi sei” (Look at Me and I Will Tell You Who You Are) was inaugurated at the Refectory of Santa Maria Novella in Florence, curated by Elisabetta Sgarbi, as part of the Milanesiana festival.
In 2019, a major retrospective was held at the Giorgio Conti Foundation (Palazzo Cucchiari) in Carrara, titled “Andrea Martinelli. Storie di uomini e ombre. Opere 1999-2019” (Stories of Men and Shadows. Works 1999-2019), curated by Massimo Bertozzi and Antonio Natali. Since 2014, Martinelli has been a member of the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno in Florence.
Andrea Martinelli is a highly refined, formidable, and relentless draftsman, drawing inspiration equally from the tradition of sixteenth-century Italian drawing and the cold disillusionment of the German New Objectivity. Always focused on the meticulous technical detail of his lines, his work has gradually shed its more obstinately dark and dramatic aspects, embracing a light and amused poetry of everyday things.
