ETNA World presents: Contemporary Fine Art in America & the World

The story of Nicola Simbari is now legendary. He was raised in Rome where his father, an architect, worked for the Vatican. Young Simbari was influenced by the Sistine Chapel and other art treasures of the city. He attended the Academia delle Belli Art, where he studied architecture. The influence of geometric forms made an indelible impression on him and, to this day, has played an important part in his work. After teaching architecture for a brief time he branched out on his own, taking a studio in the Via del Babuino. At the outset of his painting career he went through an important non-representational period.

A critic for Le Monde wrote in 1971, relative to a Simbari exhibition in Paris: The originality of this painting gorged with light and color expressed with a powerful and energetic style resides principally in the strict associations of the figurative and the abstract. A boundless restlessness helped to disassociate Simbari from either of these approaches. Local fiestas, religious processions, carabinieri’s parades, gypsies, cyclists and fishermen’s villages, were among his earliest subjects. Each of them expressed his passion for life, the spectacle of existence. Nicola Simbari showed his paintings for the first time in Rome in 1953. Clearly, to all those who saw the show in this country, in New York in 1959, was pivotal to his burgeoning career. Palm Beach, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, St. Louis and London, again, followed. The rest is history.

Two major solo shows in New York catapulted Simbari to the top of the international art world.
• 1976 The Crazy Horse Saloon, a documentation of the famous Paris nightclub, a stark view of showgirls- on and off stage .
• 1977 Le Cirque, a poignant interpretation of the circus, its glitz and pathos.

Simbari continued to exhibit his works throughout the 1980’s. He also went through a period of graphics and found time to create a series of monumental steel sculptures. Another landmark show, with Paris as its subject, was a 1981 highlight. Exhibitions in Germany, Japan, Monaco and New York added to his international renown. His paintings of Manhattan, featuring thirteen cityscapes, were a brilliant finale to the decade.

][ simbari's gallery ][ special ][ artists gallery ][
	NICOLA SIMBARI The story of Nicola Simbari is now legendary. Simbari was born in San Lucido, a small village situated in Calabria, Italy. He was raised in Rome where his father, an architect, worked for the Vatican. The Sistine Chapel and other art treasures of the city influenced Simbari. He attended the Academia delle Belli Art, where he studied architecture. The influence of geometric forms made an indelible impression on him and, to this day, has played an important part in his work.
The story of Nicola Simbari is now legendary. He was raised in Rome where his father, an architect, worked for the Vatican. Young Simbari was influenced by the Sistine Chapel and other art treasures of the city. He attended the Academia delle Belli Art, where he studied architecture. The influence of geometric forms made an indelible impression on him and, to this day, has played an important part in his work. After teaching architecture for a brief time he branched out on his own, taking a studio in the Via del Babuino. At the outset of his painting career he went through an important non-representational period. A critic for Le Monde wrote in 1971, relative to a Simbari exhibition in Paris: The originality of this painting gorged with light and color expressed with a powerful and energetic style resides principally in the strict associations of the figurative and the abstract. A boundless restlessness helped to disassociate Simbari from either of these approaches. Local fiestas, religious processions, carabinieri’s parades, gypsies, cyclists and fishermen’s villages, were among his earliest subjects. Each of them expressed his passion for life, the spectacle of existence. Nicola Simbari showed his paintings for the first time in Rome in 1953. Clearly, to all those who saw the show in this country, in New York in 1959, was pivotal to his burgeoning career. Palm Beach, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, St. Louis and London, again, followed. The rest is history. Two major solo shows in New York catapulted Simbari to the top of the international art world. • 1976 The Crazy Horse Saloon, a documentation of the famous Paris nightclub, a stark view of showgirls- on and off stage . • 1977 Le Cirque, a poignant interpretation of the circus, its glitz and pathos. Simbari continued to exhibit his works throughout the 1980’s. He also went through a period of graphics and found time to create a series of monumental steel sculptures. Another landmark show, with Paris as its subject, was a 1981 highlight. Exhibitions in Germany, Japan, Monaco and New York added to his international renown. His paintings of Manhattan, featuring thirteen cityscapes, were a brilliant finale to the decade.
][ simbari's gallery ][ special ][ artists gallery ][