Marco Tirelli was born in Rome in 1956 where he lives and works.

He studied at the Fine Art Academy in Rome where he graduated in scenography with Toti Sciajola.

Tirelli’s paintings depict abstract subjects and indeterminate forms interacting with light and shadow, such that they appear to occupy three-dimensional space. In explaining the roots of his work, Tirelli speaks about growing up in Rome: “I never felt entirely a part of it. And this has had a big effect on my work because I’ve always sensed a tension between places […] and what lies unseen beyond.” The forms on his monumental canvases are rendered with a soft sfumato that Tirelli has perfected over the course of years, creating careful gradations of charcoal on paper; in fact, the highlights and shadows in his later works are created using a pointillist technique, although with airbrushes rather than paintbrushes. To keep the purity of his paints, he filters them through tulle, and then dilutes them to achieve different levels of viscosity.

His works are part of the collections of some of the most important international museums among the others MAXXI Museo Nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo – Rome; La Galleria Nazionale – Rome; MACRO Museo d’Arte Contemporanea – Rome; Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. Farnesina Art Collection, Rome; European Parliament, Art Collection – Bruxelles; MART, Museo di arte moderna e contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto – Rovereto; Il Centro per l’Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci – Prato; Palazzo Fortuny – Venice; the Albertina Museum – Wien; Mumok, Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig – Wien; Kahosiung Museum of Fine Arts – Taiwan.

CV

Portfolio

Untitled, 1990

Untitled, 2010

Untitled, 1989-1990