The Mayor Gallery – Turi Simeti (1929-2021): A Homage

This Autumn The Mayor Gallery presents an affectionate homage to the Italian artist Turi Simeti who sadly passed away earlier this year, with an exhibition of works spanning 40 years from 1967 to 2007. A cultural and commercial success, Turi Simeti is considered a true pioneer, a “maestro,” of 20th and 21st Century Italian art and leaves behind an extraordinary legacy and body of work.

Born in Alcamo, Sicily, 1929, Turi Simeti moved to Rome in 1958 where he met Alberto Burri who was a significant influence and mentor to the young artist. He became an integral part of the dynamic art scenes in Rome and later in Milan with his debut show being in 1965 at the pivotal touring exhibition ZERO Avantgarde. Held in Lucio Fontana’s atelier and organised by Nanda Vigo, it featured many of the Zero Group’s most influential members. Simeti became an active member of the post-war Art Informel and ZERO movements alongside his Italian contemporaries Lucio Fontana, Piero Manzoni, Enrico Castellani and Agostino Bonalumi.