Walter Da Col

Walter Da Col was born in Milan in 1942. Despite the fact that art had played no significant role in his education and background, in the late 60’s he was drawn into the “La Ripa” Art Circle – in that period its main members were aspiring actors from Milan, who, as part of their activity within the Circle, would produce some of the most intriguing and dynamic pieces of the Milanese figurative art scene. At “La Ripa” he attended advanced painting courses taught by the artists who were also part of the Circle – he thus had the chance to meet and interact with acclaimed masters of fine art in person. Da Col participated in many impromptu group expositions organized by La Ripa in cities all over Italy; at the same time, he also held important solo exhibitions at the Musei Civici and private galleries. His frequent trips to Southern Italy and other Mediterranean countries, such as France, Spain, ex-Yugoslavia, Greece, Tunisia, Morocco, Turkey, Jordan, and Egypt, played an important part in his career, as they influenced the evolution of his style of painting; his travels across Scandinavia and Central Europe proved equally as stimulating. His more recent sojourns in Russia, America and the Far East provided Da Col with the opportunity to come into contact with new cultures and forms of creativity that he could use as inspiration for his works. Two events in his long and intense career helped him gain notoriety among critics: the exhibition at Civico Museo Arengario in Monza (March 1979) and the “Dalla realtà all’inesauribile incantesimo dell’immaginario” art show at Palazzo Gregoris, an event organized by the local Councillor for Entertainment and Culture and sponsored by the township of Pordenone (September-October 1991). In 1980 he was commissioned to design the poster for “Expo Ita 80”, an event at Fiera Milano that promoted energy conservation. In 1982, for the 100th anniversary of the death of Garibaldi, the Comune (municipality) of Marsala and the “Mostra di Pittura Città di Marsala” organization invited him to the “Garibaldi, i Mille e i Picciotti per l’Unità d’Italia” memorial event; the artwork he presented on that occasion was put on display in the prestigious Pinacoteca Comunale, located in Palazzo Fici, an 18th-century palace that is also home to more than 300 works of famous 20th-century Italian painters. Over the past few years, Da Col has been taking part in a growing number of important national and international art shows. Evidence and records of Da Col’s work are available at the Fondazione Pagani, Modern Art Museum in Legnano, Castellanza; Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz (Italian 20th-century art Archive); Los Angeles County Museum of Art (California); Agency ID – 3CO – LTD (Tokyo, Japan).