As a prominent member of the Transvanguardia movement, Sandro Chia gained recognition in the 1970s and 80s. Transvanguardia literally means ‘beyond the avant-garde’ and it marked a return to mythic representation and figurative subjects. It also started the reincorporation of emotion into artistic work. Sandro achieved this with strong colour and movement in his work. He energetically depicted heroic male figures while exemplifying the themes of eroticism and death.
Sandro Chia was born in Florence, Italy in 1946. He has been a prolific artist throughout the past 45 years and has exhibited around the world. Museums that have hosted his work solo work include Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (1983), the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (1984), Staatliche Kunsthalle, Berlin (1984), Mumok, Vienna (1989), Museo Rufino Tamayo, Mexico City (1989), Galleria Civica D’Arte Contemporanea, Trento (1990), Villa Medici, Rome (1995), The Hague (2008) and Galleria Civica di Modena, Italy (2011).
While he continues to work out of studios in both Miami and Rome, Sandro has also branched out in his creative endeavours. He now produces and award winning line of wines in Montalchino. This demonstrates that appreciating and producing beauty is the real underlying talent that Chia possesses and he can turn this talent to new challenges.
