BIOGRAPHY
Mauro Cozzi was born in 1948 in Florence where he lives and works.
His interest in painting developed during the 1950s and '60s, a period when artists such as Casorati, De Chirico, Saetti and Breddo were frequent visitors to his father's house. When still very young he exhibited spontaneous naturalistic works in both group shows and several personal exhibitions.
His style began to change when he started his architectural studies: his canvases were crowded with bright colours and he experimented with different types of texture as well as the fresco technique. After his degree he continued to study the history of architecture, working as an artist at the same time. He taught at several universities and continued his research publishing studies, especially on the decorative arts and architecture of the 19th and early 20th centuries, a period of which he is a renowned authority.
He has travelled frequently in the southern Mediterranean, an area to which he is profoundly drawn. From 1975, for about twelve years, he painted the "islands" series and exhibited them in personal exhibitions in several Italian cities; his artistic development has been well described in the critical appreciations of Elvio Natali and Pier Carlo Santini.
He has participated in group exhibitions and art shows in Italy and abroad. In 1978 he was awarded a prize by the Accademia G. Pontano (Naples) for artists under 40 years old who have sought to develop their representational style. With Ghiribelli, Oliveti and other artists, he was part of the Bafomet group.
While following the experimentation of the 1970s and the eclecticism and revivals of the 1980s, Cozzi has continued to develop his own entirely pictorial inclination, intensifying his studies of the morphology and structure of the landscape. This interest was confirmed in the personal exhibition held in 1989 at the Kriterion gallery in Milan (with critical catalogue introduction by Rossana Bossaglia) and an article by Antonio Natali which appeared in Artista, in 1994. After exhibitions at the Riva Sinistra Arte gallery, the Caffè Giubbe Rosse in Florence and by the Contrada of Leocorno in Siena, (following a period devoted mainly to research and study) he held an exhibition in Florence at the Mentana gallery, representing his impressions of the landscapes and architecture of Matera and surrounding area.
PERSONAL EXHIBITIONS
- Galleria Spinetti, Firenze, 1964 e 1967
- Galleria Il Catalogo, Salerno, 1972
- David Galleries, Bari, 1975
- Galleria Mentana, Firenze, 1975
- Galleria il Catalogo, Salerno, 1976
- Galleria Santacroce due, Padova, 1976
- Galleria Mentana, Terni, 1976
- Galleria La Soffitta, Colonnata (Firenze), 1977
- Galleria Metastasio, Prato, 1977
- Galleria Il Gabbiano, Bari, 1977
- Galleria L’incontro, Ostiglia (Mantova), 1978
- Centro culturale Bafomet, Firenze, 1979
- Galleria Il Catalogo, Salerno, 1980
- Circolo Acciaierie di Piombino, 1982
- Galleria Aglaia, Firenze, 1983
- Biblioteca Comunale, San Vincenzo (Livorno), 1984
- Galleria Aglaia, Firenze, 1986
- Galleria Kriterion, Milano, 1989
- British Institute, Firenze, 1989
- Riva Sinistra Arte, Firenze 1996
- Caffè Giubbe Rosse, Firenze, 1998
- Contrada del Liocorno, Siena, 1998
- Case d’arte/mattonaia/venticinque, Firenze, 2001
- Saletta Galleria Mentana, Firenze, 2008
- Impression Arte e Libri, Cala Galera (GR), 2012
- Impression Arte e Libri, Cetona (SI), 2012
- Galleria Mentana, Firenze, 2013
- 79rosso, Firenze, 2014
- Studio Gasperini, Trieste, 2015
- Galleria Mentana, Firenze, 2017
- Borghese Palace Art Hotel, Firenze, 2019
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES
- "Beauty Parade", agosto-settembre 1958
- G. De Logu, Presentazione in catalogo, Galleria Spinetti, Firenze 1964
- L. Servolini, "Il Telegrafo", 9 gennaio 1965
- C. Marsan, pres. in cat. Galleria Spinetti, Firenze 1967
- G. Breddo, pres. in cat., David Gallery, Bari 1975
- E. Natali, pres. in cat., Galleria Mentana, Firenze 1975
- E. Natali, "Avvenire", Cronaca di Prato, 14 aprile 1977
- G. Pozzi, pres. in cat., Galleria "La Soffitta", Sesto Fiorentino 1977
- P.C. Santini, pres. in cat., Centro culturale Bafomet, Firenze 1979
- T. Paloscia, "La Nazione" 15 maggio 1979
- E. Natali, Formale/Informale, Edizioni del Palazzo, Prato, 1980, pp. 96-98
- T. Paloscia, "La Nazione", 27 novembre 1983
- E. Natali, "Eco d'arte moderna" n. 44, marzo-aprile 1983
- R. Bossaglia, pres. in cat. Galleria Kriterion, Milano 1989
- A. Natali, Artista. Critica d'arte in Toscana 1994, Le Lettere Firenze 1994, pp. 136-137 e figg.
- B. Chambaz, Romeo quest'inverno in Europa come, Antologia, a cura di E Siciliano, Giunti, Firenze, 1996,
- E. Natali, In tempra tesa. Poesie, Polistampa Firenze 1998
- M. Aitiani, pres. in cat., Contrada del Leocorno, Siena 1998
- G. Giusti, pres. in cat., Saletta della Galleria Mentana Firenze, 2008
- Bafomet allo specchio. Le idee e le mostre degli artisti del Gruppo negli anni di Borgo Pinti (1977-1981), a cura di M. Cozzi e G. Oliveti, Feeling Groovy & Le Giubbe rosse, Firenze 2013
- Bernard Chambaz, Éphémère, Paris, Stock, 2020
- Catalogo Nazionale Bolaffi n.14 (1979) e succ. ed.
- SAUR, Allgemeines Kunstler-lexikon, vol.22, 1999