Biography
Born in Alcamo in 1929, he left Sicily in ’58 and moved to Rome where he began to paint as a self-taught and started his first contacts with the art world, knowing artists of the caliber of Alberto Burri, of whom he attended the study. In these years, during which he stays for long periods in London, Paris and Basel, he develops, in the wake of contemporary international artistic experiments, a personal language based on the use of monochrome and relief, structured mainly around the geometric figure of the ellipse , which will become the cornerstone of his style. In 1965, the year in which he moved to Milan, he was invited to join the “Zero Avantgarde” group, which presented himself for the first time in Lucio Fontana’s atelier. From ’66 to ’69 he stayed for long periods in New York, he was invited as Artist in Residence by Fairleigh Dichinson University. From 1969 onwards his works were exhibited in the International Art Fairs: in Cologne with the Rekermann Gallery, Galleria 44, Galleria Ahrens, Galleria Wack, Galleria Mayer; in Basel with the Liatowisch Gallery, E. Wassermann Edition, Ahrens Gallery, Luise Krohn Gallery, Dorothea Van Der Koelen Gallery, Wack Gallery; in Chicago with Galleria 44; in Frankfurt and Bologna with the Milenium Gallery, the Vismara Gallery and the Chances de l’Art Gallery. In the following years, after moving to Rio de Janeiro, he exhibited in numerous private spaces abroad, but it is during a Milanese exhibition, in which his works are combined with those of Castellani and Bonalumi, which is highlighted as his work, although very close in terms of compositional techniques to that of two artists, demonstrates a completely personal interpretation by the artist.
Since the nineties, the volumetric elements multiply on the canvases, which begin to take on increasingly intense colors, the result of Simeti’s in-depth study of the technique. Subsequently, Turi Simeti continued to exhibit in many public and private spaces around the world, establishing herself as one of the most important representatives of Italian art internationally. He currently lives and works in Milan.