Silvio Formichetti was born in 1969 in Pratola Peligna, in the province of L'Aquila. His first works focused on two themes: Abruzzo landscapes and female nudes.
Since the mid-1990s, he has been passionate about the informal painting of Jackson Pollock and his droplet technique, known as "Action Painting". The works of Hans Hartung as well as those of his compatriots Afro Basaldella and Emilio Vedova were also a source of inspiration for his own abstract style of painting.
Most of his paintings are characterized by strong primary colors such as red, yellow and blue, combined with black and white. Formichetti's visual style has evolved over the years, but remains colorful, emotionally charged and experimental. Since 1999, he has also integrated more symbolism into his works. It is expressed through two fundamental instruments: brushes and spatulas.
At the request of Vittorio Sgarbi, Silvio Formichetti was one of the exhibitors in the Italian pavilion at the 54th Venice Biennale in 2011. Since then he has been considered one of the main Italian exponents of informal painting.
For years, Formichetti also performed live painting and body painting. His performances manage to reach an increasingly wider audience thanks to the power of artistic expression.
His work has been exhibited in several museums in Italy, Bulgaria and Germany. In November 2013, a solo exhibition took place at the European Parliament in Brussels in the Altiero Spinelli building. This exhibition, curated by the artist himself, included twenty medium-sized works created especially for the event.
Formichetti has art workshops in Pratola Peligna, Rome and Vomero (Naples). His studio in Pratola Peligna has already been visited by several artists, including Mark Kostabi.
In 2014, Formichetti was invited three times on the actuaprogram program TG2 Italia, the RAI news channel. A year later, art expert Stefano Sassi made a documentary for RAI on the life and art of Silvio Formichetti, which was broadcast on Rai 5.
