PAOLO TAGLIAFERRO
The artistic history of Paolo Tagliaferro began as a whispered conversation, transmitted across his father’s drawing table. Since childhood, the scent of colors and the lines of drawing forged his destiny. His first masters? The giants of the seventeenth century. Paolo immersed himself in the light and shadow of Caravaggio, creating copies that were an intimate dialogue with art history. This classical training accompanied him through the 'A. Martini' Art High School in Vicenza, and into the historic halls of the 'G.B. Cignaroli' Academy of Fine Arts in Verona, where he graduated in Painting in 2007. It was precisely here that his gaze encountered a modern obsession: hyperrealism. This movement, born in the United States in the 1970s, was not just a technique, but an epiphany. Paolo began to push the brush beyond reality, focusing initially on silent and perfect still lifes. Today, his work has evolved into a fascinating shortcut between eras: intense portraits of people and animals merge with compositions where antique and modern toys converse, creating a visual reflection on the passage of time. Since 2000, his canvases have begun to travel. Thanks to a growing interest from critics and gallerists, Paolo has exhibited in major fairs and, in the two-year period of 2011–2012, reached an exceptional milestone: being selected for the 54th edition of the Venice Biennale, curated by Vittorio Sgarbi. Today, the artist who learned from the masters has become a master himself. Since 2021, Paolo Tagliaferro has also been teaching Painting at the Cignaroli Academy and at the Brenzoni School in Verona, where he not only shares his technique but ignites the spark in new talents. Paolo Tagliaferro does not simply paint: he offers a meticulous, sharp, and touching gaze at reality, one work after another, which has made him a constant and authoritative presence in contemporary art catalogues.
ARTISTIC EXPERIENCES
“Contemplazioni, bellezza e tradizione del nuovo nella pittura italiana contemporanea”, Rimini, Castel Sismondo, July - August 2009, curated by Alberto Agazzani. "Dentro". Important group exhibition of Italian hyperrealist painters, San Gimignano, September - October 2009, curated by Alberto Agazzani. "Vietato l'eccesso. L'altra Biennale", group exhibition of contemporary masters, curated by Gilberto Grilli, summer 2011. “54th edition of the Venice Biennale, l’ Arte non è cosa nostra”. Sala Nervi, Turin, December 2011 - January 2012, curated by Vittorio Sgarbi. "Realismo Radicale", important group exhibition on hyperrealist painting in Turin at Galerie Unique, January 14 - January 20, 2012. "Viaggio al centro dell’arte", group exhibition of Masters of the Italian 20th century, Galleria d'Arte Donato Bramante, Fermignano (Pesaro and Urbino), September 21 - October 27, 2013, curated by Gilberto Grilli. “Sorrento Young festival internazionale”, Villa Fiorentino, Sorrento, April - May 2018, curated by Paolo Feroce. “Maestri dell’ iperrealismo italiano, No Pixel - Arte al limite”, Pinacoteca d’arte Bellini, Sarnico (Bergamo), April - June 2019, curated by Alberto Rossi. From 3/10/2024 to 2/11/2024, the artist exhibited at the international still life festival in Kranj, Slovenia, receiving the third prize among one hundred international artists. The event was organized by the Slovenian government, which in 2024 selected 5 Italian artists, including myself, to participate in this art festival. From December 27, 2024, to January 2, 2025, the artist Paolo Tagliaferro exhibited alongside the artist Monica Pellegrini at the hyperrealist painting exhibition “Oltre, illusione del visibile” at the Noesis gallery in Rome. --- ### CATALOGUES IN WHICH I AM FEATURED 2009 was the year in which I began to be included in major catalogues, but I started exhibiting in 2000. * Catalogue of the exhibition “Contemplazioni bellezza e tradizione del nuovo nella pittura italiana contemporanea”, curated by Alberto Agazzani, Castel Sismondo, Rimini, 2009; * Catalogue of the exhibition “Dentro”, curated by Alberto Agazzani, San Gimignano, 2009; * Art Dossier, director Philippe Daverio. “Manierismi e virtuosismi, perizie leonardesche, e vetri contemporanei, eco architettura viennese e iperrealismo italiano”. September 2010. The article on Italian hyperrealism runs from page 20 to page 25; * Catalogue of the exhibition “Vietato l’eccesso. l’altra biennale”, curated by Gilberto Grilli, year 2011; * Catalogue of the exhibition “Realismo Radicale, virtuoso, tecnico, esasperato”, curated by Patrick Caputo, Gallerie Unique, 2012; * Catalogue of the exhibition “L’altro Rinascimento. Genio e bellezza controcorrente. Maestri del ‘900 ed oltre”, curated by Gilberto Grilli, Year 2017; * Catalogue of the exhibition VIIIa Rescalli Villoresi. “Tutti i volti del FAI. “Giornate di Primavera”. Fondo Ambiente Italiano” March 24/25, 2018. Milan North-West Delegation. Associazione Ville Dimore e Corti Lombarde; * Catalogue of the exhibition “Sorrento Young Art Festival SYART 2018”. Second edition, April 7 - May 13, 2018. Villa Fiorentino, Sorrento. Fondazione Sorrento; * Catalogue of the exhibition “Terzo festival dell’Arte figurativa e dell’iperrealismo, premio Marco Nocchia”. Graphic and pictorial art competition. Associazione culturale il piacere dell’Arte, Civitavecchia, September 15-23, 2018; * Catalogue of the exhibition “Maestri dell’iperrealismo italiano, No pixel, arte al limite”, Sarnico, from April 26 to June 9, 2019, curated by Massimo Rossi. Associazione Culturale il Ponte; * Catalogue of the exhibition “Dall’impressionismo all’iperrealismo, quattro artisti in mostra” at the Castello dei Conti Guidi - noble halls (Poppi, Arezzo). Catalogue sponsored by the Municipality of Poppi; * Catalogue of the exhibition “Presenze Contemporanee 2020”, Associazione di promozione sociale La Tenda and Associazione eXclusive. Pam (Parete Art Museum) Palazzo Ducale, Parete (Caserta); * Catalogue of the exhibition “Mednarodni festival likovnih umetnosti Kranj - ZDSLU” Slovenia, from 3/10/2024 to 2/11/2024.