Biography

Lino Mannocci was born in Viareggio in Tuscany. He arrived in London in 1968 and studied at Camberwell School of Art (1970-73) and the Slade School of Art (1974-75). Since 1976 he has divided his time living and working in London and Montigiano, a small hilltop village just outside his birthplace.

For the past 24 years he has exhibited regularly both in London and Italy. Recent solo exhibitions include Galleria Ceribelli, Bergamo (1996 and 1998), Galleri Ghelfi, Vicenza (1996), Eagle Gallery, London (1997). His first painting exhibition with Art First Storie di Mare took place in October 1999 and was held in conjunction with The Italian Cultural Institute(London) where a further selection of works on this theme was displayed. Since then he has had two further exhibitions with Art First Storie de Mare in 2000 and Bonfires and Other Stories in 2001.

His work has been purchased by the British Museum, London; Altoner Museum, Amburgo; W.Hack Museum, Ludwigshaffen; Jenish Musée, Vevey, and numerous private collections in Europe and the USA.

Mannocci’s images are quietly captivating. Using a palette of soft blues, browns and off-whites he imbues his subjects with an almost mystical light. Forms are pared down to their simplest shapes; paint is scraped and pulled across the surface of the canvas. The finished works are elegaic and invite contemplation. Narrative is suggested by the creation of quadrapartite groups of images placed in the centre of the canvas (they do not always follow on logically from one to another as in a strip) and these give a different sense of time and place to the single scenes.

He also works on picture postcards, manipulating their imagery, challenging us to relook at places we think we know well. Painting out features or backgrounds and replacing building and/or objects out of context shows a lighter side of the artist, and places him as a contemporary exponent of the Italian capriccio.