Pino Pinelli (Italian/Sicilian, b. 1938) is an Italian artist, known for his minimalistic, large-scale pieces in which he challenges and alters the traditional idea of painting. In the 1960s, he moved to Milan, attracted by the great artistic and cultural turmoil that occurred at that time around essential figures of Italian post-war art such as Lucio Fontana, Piero Manzoni, and Enrico Castellani. Inspired by these slightly older Zero artists, Pinelli created artworks that capture and embody the desire of the era to change the existence of traditional painting.
Pinelli held his first exhibition in the National Gallery of Modern Art in Rome in 1981, titled Art/Criticism 1980. In 1987, Pinelli was invited to his first Venice Biennale, and he returned in 1997. Additionally, he has shown his art at the Institute of Italian Culture in London in 2001, 2005, and 2007.
Pinelli was one of the leading figures in the Pittura Analytica (Analytical Painting) movement. His work challenges the traditional ideals of painting by creating works that mimic outlines of geometric trails and by utilizing his materials to give solidity to his work. By combining simplified geometric shapes and predominately primary colors, Pinelli’s work serves a powerful minimalist statement while still being unique in its own. Pino Pinelli draws on the principles of the Pittura Analitica movement to push the boundaries of his material. Often monochromatic and bright, Pinelli’s canvasses are covered in thick layers of paint, which emphasize the tactile qualities of the paint itself.
Pinelli lives and works in Milan.