Enzo Cucchi
(1949–)
Enzo Cucchi
1949–
Enzo Cucchi (1949–) is an Italian painter born in Morro D’Alba, Ancona. He was a member of the Italian Transavanguardia movement that was active in the 1980s with Francesco Clemente, Sandro Chia, Mimmo Paladini, and Nicola De Maria. The movement was part of the wider Neo-Expressionists movement, known for its break away from minimalism and re-introduction of bright colours, symbolism, and figuration.
Cucchi’s large-scale oil paintings are characterized by their vibrant colours, mythic quality, and surrealistic landscapes. Along with being a self-taught painter, Cucchi is also a writer and often displays his paintings alongside his poetic verses. In the 1980s, he began experimenting with more unconventional techniques, such as drawing on walls, using ceramics, or incorporating painted images into sculpture. Cucchi has also worked on projects such as church altarpieces, book illustrations, and stage design for theatre and opera.
Cucchi’s first major retrospective was at the Soloman R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, in 1986. His work has also been exhibited at notable places such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York, The Art Institute of Chicago, the Centre George Pompidou in Paris, and The Tate in London, UK. He was also commissioned to do large public art projects, including the Bruglinger Park, Basil, 1984; the Lousiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Copenhagen; and Fontana d’Italia, a fountain at York University, Toronto, 1993. In 2007, the Venice Museo Corner celebrated his career with a retrospective exhibition that opened simultaneously with the 52nd Venice Biennale. He lives and works in Rome and Ancona.
