ANTONIO TAMBURRO
Antonio Tamburro was born in 1948 in Isernia. He attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Naples. He moved to Rome in 1968 and completed his studies at their Academy of Fine Arts. In Rome Tamburro began to exhibit his works in several prestigious galleries, having a good success with audiences and critics. He returned to his hometown, in 1969, where he painted a series of frescoes in the Church of San Felice. Between 1970 and 1973, Tamburro attended the cultural circles in Rome and Milan, making friends with Orfeo Tamburi, Domenico Purificato, Giorgio De Chirico, Fausto Pirandello. His first solo exhibition was in 1972 at the Town Hall of Perugia. In these paintings there is a reference to the origins, with a strong and almost violent colouring of stamped expressionism. In 1974 he exhibited in Milan at the gallery "La Porta". This is also the year in which he became interested in social problems, especially the abandonment and the solitude of the mentally ill, inspired by realistic reportage. Four years later, in 1978, he was called to teach at the School of Art in Spoleto leaving in 1981 to devote himself exclusively to painting.In 1979, some of his works were published in "Art in Umbria” by edition Siglarte and his works began to be published in various other art magazines. In 1984 he participated in the exhibition "Routes, research and mysteries in the art” and in the " Gianicolo Art Centre " along with Burri, De Gregorio, Rambaldi and others. In 1985, he created a large fresco in the church of S. Assumption in Mantignana (Perugia) and a mural in Dozza, in the province of Bologna, where many of the greatest Italian artists painted the facades of houses. In 1989 the magazine "Arte Mondadori" dedicated an editorial to the theme of the suburbs and afterwards the same publishing house Mondadori made a catalogue with an essay by the critic Dario Micacchi and the artist Alberto Sughi. In 1991 he had a solo exhibition titled “The Juliets of Tamburro” that was set in the evocative spaces of Juliet's House in Verona. 1991 was also the year in which he started attending the Roman artistic environment. He knew masters such as Calabria, Sughi, Vespignani, Attardi and the photographer Pino Settanni who inserted him in his book of photographs “Memory and Images" that was dedicated to artists and personalities of cinema and culture. In 1999 he held a solo exhibition at the Gallery Padua Art in Padova. In 2000 he participated at Art Miami, with a catalogue curated by Raffaele Nigro. In 2001 the magazine "ArteIn" published a critical text by Paolo Rizzi. In 2002 in the monthly magazine "Arte Mondadori" an editorial about the protagonists of contemporary painting referred to him as “The loner of painting". In 2003, on the occasion of the White Night in Rome (Notte Bianco), he took part in the group exhibition at the Gallery Michelangelo along with Attardi, Benaglia, Calabria, Possenti, Sughi and he also exhibited at the ARGAM, for the event Primaverile Romana the “Mythology of the imagination". That year was full of events, in fact many solo exhibitions were held in art galleries, both in Italy and abroad: the Gallery Barbara Ruez of Monaco, the Gallery of Augsburg, Sala Segantini in Switzerland hosting the same foundation. In his artistic growth Antonio Tamburro became more flexible and versatile. In 2006 he was the protagonist of the important exhibition in Prato, at the headquarters of Confartigianato. At this time the newspaper "La Gazzetta dello Sport" commissioned him to design the logo of the pink jersey which is the symbol of the ninetieth Tour of Italy. This realization represented his first important approach to the genre of sport. The year 2008 was also very important for Tamburro. He exhibited in Austria, at the Gallery Schlossparz and then, in March of the same year, he had the honour to paint “The portrait of the Pope Benedetto XVI”, that was donated to the Holy Father. It has prevailing shades of white and blue, and it keeps the colors of light, yellow and ochre, the strong colouring of stamped expressionism, which is characteristic of the paintings of Tamburro. The portrait can be found at the entrance of the library of Pope Benedetto XVI in St Peters. In 2008 he also designed the poster for the Cycling World Championships in Varese. Afterwards he made a solo exhibition at the Sesto Senso Art Gallery in Rome, titled "Cycling and its protagonists". In 2009 the General Command of the Guardia di Finanza (Finance Police) entrusted Tamburro with the task of illustrating their historical calendar of the Corps. In the same year, in April, he participated in the exhibition "Italian Artists in Russia” at the gallery Svetlana Serebtyakova of St. Petersburg. In June of that year he was invited to take part in the exhibition “Eternologie" at the Italian House CONI, on the occasion of the XVI Mediterranean Games in Pescara. His large-scale works dedicated to cycling were well presented in the headquarters of the Azzurri. On the 10th of December 2009 at the Palazzo Venezia in Rome the inauguration was held for his first retrospective exhibition " The sense of time " with a complex of works spanning from 1980 to 2009.In February 2010, Antonio Tamburro was one of the artists invited for the collective "Italian Olympic Spirit” at the Italian House CONI, on the occasion of the XXI Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. In the June, he participated in another group exhibition about the theme of sport and art at the Villa Glicini Club Scherma in Turin, Parco del Valentino. The title was "Art for the World Cup 2010". The exhibition was also presented to the Pre-Worlds of Sestriere and mentioned by Rai Sport2, on the occasion of the of the national team’s training camp. On 6th of August of the same year in St. Moritz he held a solo exhibition mainly regarding the theme of Jazz in tune with the context of the Jazz Festival in St. Moritz. [....]
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