EmilioTADINI
About
One of the most original personalities of Italy’s post-World War II cultural debate, Emilio Tadini began to evolve an original painting style which he applied to major cycles from the early Sixties. His surrealist works, populated by a confluence of literary, dreamlike elements and everyday characters and objects stem from a mental flow from which images emerge in a Freudian process of relationships and associations.
A place of convergence for different forms of expression, his work has its point of departure in British pop art, a transitional phase which Tadini abandoned in the Eighties which nevertheless left an indelible mark on his subsequent work.
Born in Milan in 1927, Emilio Tadini received a Bachelor of Arts degree and immediately began to distinguish himself as one of the most lively and original voices in the post-World War II cultural debate. In 1947 he debuted with a poem in Elio Vittorini's magazine "Politecnico", which was followed by intense critical and theoretical writing on art (Possibilità di relazione, 1960; Alternative attuali, 1962, and the long essay Organicità del reale in "Il Verri" literary magazine).
From 1963 to 1993 Tadini has published four novels, (Le armi l'amore, L’opera, La lunga notte, La tempesta) and a volume of poems (L’insieme delle cose). Alongside his critical and literary work, from the late 1950s Tadini began to paint. His first solo exhibition was in 1961 at the Galleria del Cavallino in Venice.
From 1965 onwards he regularly exhibited at Studio Marconi. During the Seventies he has had solo exhibitions in Paris, Stockholm, Brussels, London, Antwerp, the United States and Latin America, both in private galleries and in public spaces and museums.
In 1978 and 1982 Tadini participated in the Venice Biennial, and in 1986 he had a large solo exhibition at the Rotonda di via Besana in Milan. He showed a series of paintings that anticipated the subsequent cycles Refugees and Italian Cities, the latter shown in 1988 at the Tour Fromage in Aosta. In 1990 he exhibited seven large triptychs at Studio Marconi, and in 1992 the exhibition Overseas was showcased in Paris at Galerie du Centre. A year later the Overseas exhibition travelled to Studio Marconi in Milan with additional new paintings. In 1995 eight triptychs from the cycle The Philosophers’ Dance were shown at Villa delle Rose in Bologna.
From autumn 1995 to the summer of 1996 a major retrospective travelling exhibition took place in the museums of Stralsund, Bochum and Darmstadt, accompanied by a monograph edited by Arturo Carlo Quintavalle.
The Philosophers’ Dance has again been shown in 1996 at Galleria Giò Marconi.
Various exhibitions in Düsseldorf, Paris, Verona and Frankfurt followed from 1996 to 1999.
For several years Tadini was a commentator for the Italian newspaper "Corriere della Sera".
From 1997 to 2000 he was president of the Brera Academy of Fine Arts. Milan’s Palazzo Reale showed a large retrospective of his works in 2001.
In September 2002 Emilio Tadini died in Milan.
In spring 2005, the Villa dei Cedri Museum in Bellinzona had a large retrospective of his work. The exhibition Emilio Tadini 1960-1985. The Eye of Painting was inaugurated in Milan in 2007 in the exhibition rooms of the Marconi and Mudima Foundations and at the Brera Academy.
The artist’s works have been recently presented in solo and group exhibitions at Fondazione Marconi (2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2019); Fondazione Roma (Gli irripetibili anni ’60, curated by L.M. Barbero, 2011); Museo della Permanente, Milan (2012); Galleria Cortina, Milan (2013); Fondazione Magnani Rocca in Mamiano di Traversetolo and Villa Olmo, Como (2016).
A place of convergence for different forms of expression, his work has its point of departure in British pop art, a transitional phase which Tadini abandoned in the Eighties which nevertheless left an indelible mark on his subsequent work.
Born in Milan in 1927, Emilio Tadini received a Bachelor of Arts degree and immediately began to distinguish himself as one of the most lively and original voices in the post-World War II cultural debate. In 1947 he debuted with a poem in Elio Vittorini's magazine "Politecnico", which was followed by intense critical and theoretical writing on art (Possibilità di relazione, 1960; Alternative attuali, 1962, and the long essay Organicità del reale in "Il Verri" literary magazine).
From 1963 to 1993 Tadini has published four novels, (Le armi l'amore, L’opera, La lunga notte, La tempesta) and a volume of poems (L’insieme delle cose). Alongside his critical and literary work, from the late 1950s Tadini began to paint. His first solo exhibition was in 1961 at the Galleria del Cavallino in Venice.
From 1965 onwards he regularly exhibited at Studio Marconi. During the Seventies he has had solo exhibitions in Paris, Stockholm, Brussels, London, Antwerp, the United States and Latin America, both in private galleries and in public spaces and museums.
In 1978 and 1982 Tadini participated in the Venice Biennial, and in 1986 he had a large solo exhibition at the Rotonda di via Besana in Milan. He showed a series of paintings that anticipated the subsequent cycles Refugees and Italian Cities, the latter shown in 1988 at the Tour Fromage in Aosta. In 1990 he exhibited seven large triptychs at Studio Marconi, and in 1992 the exhibition Overseas was showcased in Paris at Galerie du Centre. A year later the Overseas exhibition travelled to Studio Marconi in Milan with additional new paintings. In 1995 eight triptychs from the cycle The Philosophers’ Dance were shown at Villa delle Rose in Bologna.
From autumn 1995 to the summer of 1996 a major retrospective travelling exhibition took place in the museums of Stralsund, Bochum and Darmstadt, accompanied by a monograph edited by Arturo Carlo Quintavalle.
The Philosophers’ Dance has again been shown in 1996 at Galleria Giò Marconi.
Various exhibitions in Düsseldorf, Paris, Verona and Frankfurt followed from 1996 to 1999.
For several years Tadini was a commentator for the Italian newspaper "Corriere della Sera".
From 1997 to 2000 he was president of the Brera Academy of Fine Arts. Milan’s Palazzo Reale showed a large retrospective of his works in 2001.
In September 2002 Emilio Tadini died in Milan.
In spring 2005, the Villa dei Cedri Museum in Bellinzona had a large retrospective of his work. The exhibition Emilio Tadini 1960-1985. The Eye of Painting was inaugurated in Milan in 2007 in the exhibition rooms of the Marconi and Mudima Foundations and at the Brera Academy.
The artist’s works have been recently presented in solo and group exhibitions at Fondazione Marconi (2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2019); Fondazione Roma (Gli irripetibili anni ’60, curated by L.M. Barbero, 2011); Museo della Permanente, Milan (2012); Galleria Cortina, Milan (2013); Fondazione Magnani Rocca in Mamiano di Traversetolo and Villa Olmo, Como (2016).
