Nicola Simbari (1927-2012) | Abstract painter

Nicola Simbari was an Italian painter.

Though born in San Lucido, Calabria, Nicola Simbari was raised in Rome, where his father was an architect for the Vatican.

He studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma and in the 1940s he began devoting himself to painting in a studio at Via del Babuino in central Rome.
He began to develop a distinct style stemming from impressions of life, nature and the Mediterranean, impressions which abstractly reflect themselves in the purely vivid and passionate colors of his work.

Simbari's originality and commercial appeal brought his art to exhibitions in London and New York by the 1950s, solidifying his international reputation.

Nicola Simbari is considered by many to be Italy's most important living artist.

He is a semi abstract Impressionist. Using stunning colors and favoring brilliant tones, He paints with a palette knife and achieves great depth with this technique. Simbari's paintings are full of light and energy.

He saw success almost immediately, and shortly after a one-man show in London, he was commissioned to paint murals for the Italian Pavilion at the 1958 World's Fair in Brussels. His show "Le Cirque," reflected the same excitement on his canvasses as is felt at an actual circus.

The show was highly acclaimed in Paris, New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. "When I paint, I'm like a writer", Simbari states, "I must have something to say. My paintings are like entries in a diary because they are all reactions to things I have seen or felt".

Mediterranean landscapes and paintings of contemporary European life are usually Simbari's subjects, although he also paints scenes of the Southwest.

"There's terrific drama in the desert. It's mysterious and magical, and the most dramatic natural sculpture I've ever seen".

Simbari's canvases are filled with color and emotion.

Simbari's works can be found in numerous museums and private and corporate collections around the world.

His paintings are in collections including the Bank of Tokyo and the Christian Dior Collection in Paris; Italian State Railways in Rome; Liberty Company in London; and Tulsa Bank of Commerce, Cincinnati Fine Arts Department, Exxon Corporation, General Mills Corporation and Pepsico, in America.

Major American and English critics have called Simbari "thoroughly disarming"; one who paints "boldly and in a state of excitement"; "whose personal enthusiasm and enormous zest for life have much the same infectious appeal as do his paintings". Nicola Simbari died on December 11, 2012 in Frascati, Lazio, Italy.

"Quando dipingo, sono come uno scrittore", afferma Simbari, "devo avere qualcosa da dire. I miei quadri sono come voci in un diario perché sono tutte reazioni a cose che ho visto o sentito".

Nicola Simbari (13 luglio 1927 - 11 dicembre 2012) è nato a San Lucido, in Calabria e cresciuto a Roma, dove suo padre era architetto per il Vaticano. Studia all'Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma e negli anni '40 inizia a dedicarsi alla pittura in uno studio di via del Babuino nel centro di Roma.

La prima esposizione di Simbari al mondo dell'architettura ebbe un'impressione duratura sulla sua arte, poiché incorporò forme geometriche e strutture architettoniche in quasi tutti i suoi dipinti.

Ha iniziato a sviluppare uno stile distinto derivante dalle impressioni della vita, della natura e del Mediterraneo, impressioni che si riflettono astrattamente nei colori puramente vivaci e appassionati del suo lavoro.

L'originalità ed il fascino di Simbari portarono la sua arte alle mostre di Londra e New York negli anni '50, consolidando la sua reputazione internazionale.

Ha visto il successo quasi immediatamente, e poco dopo una mostra personale a Londra, gli è stato commissionato il dipinto murale per il padiglione italiano alla Fiera mondiale del 1958 a Bruxelles.

Il suo spettacolo "Le Cirque", riflette sulle sue tele la stessa eccitazione che si prova in un vero circo. Lo spettacolo è stato acclamato a Parigi, New York, Chicago e Los Angeles.

Paesaggi mediterranei e quadri di vita europea contemporanea sono di solito soggetti di Simbari, sebbene anche dipinge scene di sud-ovest. 

Le opere di Simbari sono presenti in numerosi musei e collezioni private e aziendali in tutto il mondo. I suoi dipinti sono in collezioni tra cui la Bank of Tokyo e la collezione Christian Dior a Parigi; Ferrovie dello Stato italiane a Roma; Liberty Company a Londra; e Tulsa Bank of Commerce, Cincinnati Fine Arts Department, Exxon Corporation, General Mills Corporation e Pepsico, in America.