| Enrico Benaglia was born in Rome in 1938. During his adolescence he attended the Academy of France in Villa Medici in Rome with french and italian artists. At the same time he visited some studios in Via Margutta in Rome where he met artists like Fazzini, Montanarini, Omiccioli, Gentilini.
His contacts and friendship with painters and art critics (like Virgilio Guzzi, who immediately noticed Benaglia at his first exhibition held in Rome in 1969) influenced the development of the first formal elements of Benaglias poetics, together with the esteem and encouragement of Domenico Purificato and Giovanni Stradone.
In that period the cultural world was mainly orientated towards the poles of conceptual and ideological art, neither of which were ingrained in the artists personality, who, even though was aware of the cultural events, was stimulated to follow his own original, aesthetic and poetic research. Although not included in the trends of success, the autenticity of Benaglias painting was kept alive by the dialogue and by the praise of poets, critics, artists, collectors that contributed to the further development and to definition of the artists poetic world and to his inclusion in the figurative contemporary art scene.
1972 Won the Award Premio Villa San Giovanni
1973 Exhibition in Osaka.
At the same time of his painting his interest in graphic art grew, first for litographs and etchings afterwards. This activity took him to make art editions of graphics works with texts by Carlo Giacomozzi, Marcello Venturoli, Franco Simongini, Donatella Serafini, Guido Giuffrè, Mario Pomilio, Ferruccio Ulivi, George de Canino, Philipe Sonpault, Rossana Zampetti.
1978 Exhibition for the first time in Vienna.
Also in 1978 he was entrusted with the stage designing for Lucio Piccolos comedy Lettere di Gozzano" directed by Giacomo Colli for Radio Televisione Italiana (RAI)
1982 Exhibition with George de Canino LItammage a Rimbaud in the French Cultural Center in
Rome presented by Domenico Guzzi.
1983 Awarded the first prize inpainting XXIV edition Città di Avezzano.
1984 Made the poster for the Gran Premio della liberazione XXXIX sports edition of April 25.
1985 A monograph with the text by Alberico Sala was published by Fratelli Laterza. He was invited by the italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to carry out a travelling exhibition in Yugoslavia. Also in the same year he was invited by the swedish University in Umea as an italian painter for their homage to Italy.
1986 In Rome he designed scenes and costumes for the theatre transposition of Diario by Alice James directed by Nanni Fabbri. He participated for the first time in the Art Fair in Stockholm as a guest of the swedish Gallery Artgeneral. Also in Rome he designed scenes and costumes for the theatre piece Piccioni by Alida Maria Sessa directed by Riccardo Cucciolla.
1990 The Lazio region sponsored his anthological exhibition Enrico Benaglia, Fabula picta Fabula dicta, in the Rondanini Gallery in Rome, with the text written by Mario Lunetta, La Sapienza dellingenuità, Lingenuità della sapienza.
1991 Rossella Siligato presented his exhibition in Fiat Arte in Rome. In those last years furthermore he had many exhibitions in private spaces, Enrico Lombardis Gallery in Rome, with a catalogue by Renato Civello (Il mirabile gioco), Galleria LIndicatore in Rome, Galleria Senato in Milan (1994) with a catalogue by Carlo Bo (Lorologio in frantumi).
1995 During his exhibition in the Galleria La Vetrata in Rome, the book Tra simbolo e allegoria with the preface by Sissi Aslan was published.
1997 The Harbour Authority in Civitavecchia with the Municipality and the Regional Council of
Lazio organized at the Michelangelo Fortress in Civitavecchia an exhibition with the text by
Rolando Alfonso called Gita al forte. |
