Stefano Arienti Italian, 1961

Stefano Arienti (Asola, Italy, 1961) 

Born in Asola, near Mantua, in 1961, he moved to Milan to attend the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, where he graduated in 1986.

During this period, he approached the Milanese avant-garde with Corrado Levi, his first teacher.

Having no academic training, his works were inspired by his main passions: biology, art history, oriental culture and nature. 

In 1985, he took part in his first group exhibition, “Muffe”, using coloured chalks on the peeling and damp walls of the former Brown Boveri electric motor factory in Milan's Isola district.

He continued to display his works in Ferrara and Milan, at the Corrado Levi's studio, where he held his first solo show in 1986, and at Studio Guenzani in 1989.

In 1990, he participated in the 44th Venice Biennale, in the "Aperto" section. The following year, he exhibited at the Centre for Contemporary Art Luigi Pecci in Prato.

He also gained international recognition, participating in exhibitions at major venues such as the Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid. In 1997, he participated in two large group exhibitions at the Castello di Rivoli and the Centre for Contemporary Art in Geneva.

In 2004, MAXXI in Rome dedicated a large solo exhibition to him; three years later he was in Texas for an artistic residency offered by Artpace in San Antonio and,  in 2009, a major display of his work was held at the Palazzo Ducale in Mantua.

He has taught at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bergamo and, since 2003, has been a lecturer at the Faculty of Design and Arts at the IUAV University of Venice.

His most recent exhibitions include one at Galleria Massimo Minini (Brescia) in 2020; “Meridiane”, held at Palazzo Borromeo, Milan, in 2023; and “Opera Aperta”, which was displayed at the Teatro San Leonardo, Bologna, in 2024.

The artist now lives and works in Milan.