Alberto Garutti

Alberto Garutti was one of the most influential artists of his generation and a pioneer of public art in Italy. Born in Galbiate, near Lecco, in 1948, he moved to Milan in the 1950s where he graduated in Architecture from the Milan Polytechnic. He began his artistic career collaborating with prominent gallery owners such as Massimo Minini, Lucio Amelio, and Paul Maenz, debuting with a solo exhibition in 1975 at the Diagramma gallery in Milan. Garutti achieved international recognition mainly from the 1990s, participating for the first time in the Venice Biennale in 1990 with a solo room at the Italian Pavilion, presenting the series "Orizzonti."

In the 1990s, he started significant public art projects that established him as one of the leading interpreters of this artistic form in Italy. His architectural background deeply influenced his approach, combining spatial dimension with an open dialogue between artwork, spectator, and public space. He held the chair of painting at the Brera Academy until 2013 and also taught at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna and the IUAV University in Venice.

His works range from public installations to sculptures and site-specific interventions, characterized by strong symbolic value and intense materiality. His home and studio in Milan reflected his artistic vision, with furniture that became artworks themselves. Garutti passed away in 2023 in Galbiate, leaving a significant legacy in the Italian and international art scene.