Davide Benati (Reggio Emilia, Italy, 1949)

Davide Benati was born in Reggio Emilia in 1949. He first attended the art high school in Modena and then the Brera Academy, first in Milan and later in Bologna, where he was entrusted with the chairs of anatomy and painting.

His artistic career began in Milan in the early 1970s. While there was a general inclination towards conceptual research and outcomes, Benati rediscovered the value of painting. He often used the watercolour technique because, in his view, its transparency evoked a sense of existential consciousness. As he himself explains, through its clarity, the artist “seeks light in a sense that is not necessarily physical, but rather spiritual”.

With a minimal, cultured, and refined iconography mainly inspired by nature, he contrasts softer and lighter lines with more angular ones, showcasing the versatility of the watercolour technique.

Among the many exhibitions dedicated to him, the most outstanding ones were those at the Rome Quadriennale, in 1986, and at the Venice Biennale, in 1982 and 1990, where he exhibited a solo room in the Italian Pavilion curated by Lea Vergine, Laura Cherubini and Flaminio Gualdoni. His international curriculum, already enriched by participation in institutional group exhibitions in Nuremberg, Lisbon and Cairo, and by solo gallery shows in Zurich, Hamburg, Paris and New York, was further enriched by his collaboration with the Marlborough Gallery in Munich.

Benati continues to exhibit his works abroad and in Italy, including in his hometown, Reggio Emilia, where he returned in 2020 with the “Origami” exhibit.

The artist currently lives between Modena and Milan.

Photo UniCredit Group (Sebastiano Pellion di Persano)