Laura Villani was born in Pavia, Italy, where she still lives and works to this day.
After graduating from both Art High School and Milan Conservatory of Music, she initially decided to pursue music as a career, playing concerts with various chamber music groups, until her artistic outlet of choice became original engraving.
She then continued her studies by attending the International Chalcography Course at
the Academy of Fine Arts of Urbino and Courses of Traditional Engraving and Experimental Techniques at the International School of Graphics in Venice, under the guidance of Riccardo Licata.
In 1993, she began to display her works at the Museo della Permanente in Milan, taking part in the San Carlo Borromeo Prize, curated by Gian Alberto Dell'Acqua, Raffaele De Grada and Mario de Micheli.
In 1996 she was invited to the 13th International Biella Prize for Engraving, with Jean Clair, Tomás Llorens Serra and Giacomo Soffiantino in the jury.
In 1998 she was able to pass the selection process of and take part in the
2nd Tokyo International Print Triennial at the Tama Art University Museum of Tokyo, in the National Mondadori Art Prize in Milan, in the 18th Print Internacional de Cadaqués and in the City of Brescia National Triennial of Graphics curated by Mauro Corradini,
where she returned in 2001 for the 2nd edition.
In 2002 she was invited to the 3rd Leonardo Sciascia Amateur d'Etampes International Prize, which, at the end of an exhibition cycle in the cities of Paris, Rome, Florence and Venice, was held at the Civic Collection of Prints "Achille Bertarelli" , at the Castello Sforzesco in Milan.
In 2005 she was selected for the 4th Tokyo International Print Triennial at the Tama Art University Museum in Tokyo.
In 2006 she displayed her works at the Museo della Permanente in Milan, taking part in the painting exhibition Ventipiùcento - gli anni della Permanente, curated by Giulio Crisanti and Armando Marrocco.
In 2008, she took part in the painting exhibition Dipingere l’immenso - Traduzioni pittoriche della letteratura del Novecento at the Archivi del '900 headquarters in Milan.
In 2009 she took part in the painting exhibition Note d'Arte at the central building of the University of Pavia.
In 2021 she was invited from Marco Goldin at displays her works at the great show of contemporary painting Attorno a Van Gogh. Otto pittori e colori della vita, set up next to the large monographic exhibition dedicated to Vincent Van Gogh "Van Gogh. I colori della vita", at the Centro Altinate San Gaetano of Padua.
Following the exhibition, the artwork Provence. The suspended day becomes part of the Meoli collection and exhibited at the headquarters of the Piccolo Chiostro San Mauro in Pavia during the exhibition Piccola Antologia Visiva: una selezione dalla Collezione Meoli curated by Paolo Campiglio.
In autumn 2021, the solo show Oltretempo, curated by Chiara Gatti, at the Manifiesto Blanco Gallery in Milan. For the occasion, she presents a new series of works, the result of her own pictorial research over the past three years.
In 2022, his work "In absentia” is highlighted by the jury of the 13th Combat Prize.
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Over the past years, she has devoted her entire attention exclusively to painting and drawing.
Passionate about classical techniques, she loves to visit various museums in Italy and the rest of Europe to observe the colors, the shadows and the lights, the atmosphere in the works of the great masters, to soak up and bask in the silence, the dilatation and the suspension in time of a type of painting which is far from the chaos and the frenzy of our time.
A type of painting that hypnotizes and fixes itself in our imaginary.
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WORKS IN PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
TOKYO - Tama Art University Museum
MILAN - Sforza Castle - Achille Bertarelli Collection
BAGNACAVALLO - Cabinet of Antique and Modern Prints
SANTA CROCE SULL'ARNO - Cabinet of Drawings and Prints
BRANZOLL - Dokumentationszentrum fur Zeitgenössische Illustration Museum
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SOLO SHOWS
- Oltretempo, curated by Chiara Gatti, Manifiesto Blanco Gallery - MILAN
- L'età maggiore, Archivi del '900 - MILAN
- Il segno svelato, curated by Cinzia Bollino Bossi, San Michele Gallery - MILAN
- Il sortilegio del volto , curated by Marco Fragonara, Il Quadrato Gallery - Chieri TURIN
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PRESS REVIEW and PUBLICATIONS
2021
- Claudio Bonifazi, Il silenzio di Laura Villani, in "The daily Art", Rome 7 December
- Luca Ferracane, Paesaggi d'intervallo. Il tempo nella pittura di Laura Villani, "Babbilonia" Art, Palermo 29 November
https://www.babbilonia.com/2021/11/29/paesaggi-dintervallo-il-tempo-inella-piatura-di-laura-villani/
- Emanuele Beluffi, In viaggio con Laura Villani oltre il tempo e lo spazio, "Il Giornale OFF", Milan 13 November
https://www.ilgiornaleoff.it/2021/11/13/in-viaggio-con-laura-villani-oltre-il-tempo-e-lo-spazio/
- red., La Galleria Manifiesto Blanco ospita da domani la personale di Laura Villani, "La Provincia PAVESE”, Pavia 9 November
- Chiara Gatti, Memorie di una dimora errante e altri bagagli, critical text in the solo show catalogue, "Oltretempo", Manifiesto Blanco Gallery - Milan
- Marco Goldin, Attorno a Van Gogh. Otto pittori e i colori della vita, in exhibition catalogue Editions " Linea d'ombra"
- Maurizia Tazartes, La luce di Van Gogh sulla pittura contemporanea: Otto pittori e colori della vita, in "ArtsLife " art magazine, 26 May
https://artslife.com/2021/05/26/la-luce-di-van-gogh-sulla-piatura-contemporanea/
- Barbara Codogno, Attorno a Van Gogh. Otto pittori e i colori della vita, in "Segnonline" Contemporary Art Magazine, 7 May
2020
- Annalina Grasso, Laura Villani. La cacciatrice metafisica, in "JULIET" CONTEMPORARY ART MAGAZINE
https://www.juliet-artmagazine.com/laura-villani-la-cacciatrice-metafisica/
- Annalina Grasso, Laura Villani. La cacciatrice metafisica, in " '900 LETTERARIO", December 17
https://www.900letterario.it/interviste/laura-villani-la-cacciatrice-metafisica/
- Marco Goldin, Laura Villani - Le cose di Vincent , in the catalogue "Attorno a Van Gogh", Editions
"Linea d'ombra"
- Alessio Molteni, Laura Villani reinterpreta il mondo di Van Gogh per una mostra a Padova , in “la Provincia PAVESE ”, Pavia 19 February
2019
- red., The symbolic world of Laura Villani, in " Photographize Magazine" , New York
https://www.photographize.co/articles/laura-villani/
2018
- Maurizia Tazartes, Quelle oscurità misteriose lampeggianti di luce, in " Il Giornale OFF ", Milan 5 June
https://ilgiornaleoff.ilgiornale.it/2018/06/05/quelle-oscurita-misteriose-lampeggianti-di-luce-nel-silenzio-della-piture /
2008
- Quattro appuntamenti d'arte a Pavia e un catalogo con "Note a margine", in "La Provincia PAVESE", Pavia 17 September
1999
- Cinzia Bollino Bossi, Il segno svelato, presentation in the solo show catalogue, San Michele Gallery, Milan
- Marco Fragonara, Il sortilegio del volto, presentation in the solo show catalogue, Il Quadrato Gallery, Chieri - Turin