Gianni Colombo Italian, 1937-1993

Colombo (b. 1937 Milan, Italy – d.1993 Melzo, Italy) studied at the Accademia di Bella Arti di Brera in Milan. In 1960, with Anceschi, Boriani and De Vecchi, he founded Gruppo T to study the possibilities of changing the image by means of real movement. The investigation of the kinetic factor led to the designing of environments of visual movement in which the viewer was involved and participated.

In 1962 Colombo took part in the organization of the international movement Nouvelle tendance, and in 1964 he designed the first inhabitable environment using artificial light for the group’s exhibition at the Louvre in Paris. In 1968 he was the winner of the Venice Bienniale. In recent years he had become increasingly interested in architectural design and in 1981 won the Kunst am Bau competition for a monumental construction in Berlin. He has taught architecture in Berlin and in 1983 designed a monument to the Resistance in Como. In 1984 he had an exhibition at the Padiglione d’Arte Contemporanea in Milan and a room dedicated to his work at the XLI Venice Bienniale. In 1985 he became the Director of the Accademia di Bella Arti di Brera and is now regarded as one of the most important kinetic artists in Italy.