Paolo Terdich

An artist with a clear international vocation, Paolo Terdich was born on January 28, 1960, in Piacenza, where he currently resides, having lived and worked in various European and African countries. A figurative painter with innate technical talent, his artistic expression seeks to create atmospheres that transcend the visible surface, penetrating the inner world of emotions. His artistic career has led him to exhibit in numerous solo shows, starting with his debut in 2000 with the exhibition “Travel Notes” at the Italian Cultural Institute in Cairo, Egypt, followed in 2002 with the exhibition “Stati d’animo” at the Palazzo Comunale in Sauze d’Oulx (Turin), and in 2004 at the American Women Cultural Association in The Hague, Netherlands. These were the years of research, through experimentation with different techniques and the transition to the use of oil, on the themes of solitude and the psychological introspection of the characters, through which their inner torment shines through. His work is investigative, rendered through a silent and intimate realism that conveys a sense of anticipation.

Since 2005, he has refined his surreal, emotional realism, which finds its highest expression in the series dedicated to water. His aim is to create works that, through their compositional dynamism and chromatic vivacity, convey sensations of movement, freedom, stillness, and suspension. The color blue, predominant in his works, becomes a symbol of tranquility and harmony, helping to generate an emotional balance that conveys serenity. His often complex compositions address one of the most daunting challenges for a painter: the representation of water and the play of light reflected on a constantly moving surface. This emotional realism is also found in his still life series, in which objects are transformed into metaphysical presences, emblems of a state of mind, thanks to the pure, sculptural light. The sharp light takes center stage, lending long reflections and transparencies, the ultimate expression of a technical challenge that is not only compositional but involves overcoming the object’s static nature through the addition of whispered, almost imperceptible movement.

From 2008 to 2018 he presented his works in a series of solo exhibitions in Piacenza, initially at the Atelier d’Arte with the exhibition Le Forme e i Colori dell’Anima, subsequently with four exhibitions at the Spazio Rosso Tiziano: Trasparenti Emozioni and Donna Turchese (2009), Luci e contrasti (2015), Due mondi a confronto (2018) and in 2017 at BiffiArte with Transparency, La pittura di Paolo Terdich. In 2010 he exhibited in Nigeria at the Italian Embassy with the solo exhibition Cultural Evening with Paolo Terdich – a contemporary Italian painter. Since 2019 his solo exhibitions have been concentrated mainly abroad, first at the Von Zeidler Art Gallery in Berlin with Due mondi a confronto, then at the Galerie Sonia Monti in Paris with the exhibition Paolo Terdich (2021). Of particular note is the solo exhibition “Aqua” in 2022 in New York at Saphira&Ventura Gallery, followed by the two-person exhibition “Dal Materico all’Etereo” at Palazzo Ghizzoni-Nasalli in Piacenza. Noteworthy is his participation by invitation at the 59th Venice Biennale 2022, in the Grenada National Pavilion.

Since 2023, he has been working on the artistic project “Esodo”, in memory of the victims of the Foibe massacres and the Julian-Dalmatian exodus. This project represents his tribute to the memory of a tragedy that has not received the due prominence in the past and which demands to be remembered in its correct historical perspective. The project was presented by the President of the Chamber of Deputies on the occasion of Remembrance Day on February 10, 2025, in the two-week exhibition “Esodo – Per non dimenticare” in the prestigious Sala del Cenacolo of the Vicolo Valdina della Camera Complex. Esodo’s works capture the sense of terror felt by the victims of the Foibe massacres and the uncertainty, anxiety, and bewilderment felt by the exiles, exploring a previously explored territory of surreal and sometimes metaphysical realism.

A member of the Professional Artist Association since 2023, in 2022 he earned a Master of Business of Art from the Professional Art Institute, which complements the Master of Business Administration degree he earned in 2008 from The Edinburgh Business School – Heriot/Watt University in Edinburgh. In 2024, the artist was included in the ULAN (Union List of Artist Names) by Getty Union Research for the Getty Vocabulary, with ID 500780730. In 2025, he was reviewed on Wikipedia (Italian and English pages). Several of his works have received awards in various competitions (e.g., the Premio Arte), and his work has been reviewed and published in various art magazines and books, including Watercolor – Paintings by Contemporary Artists, the only Italian artist selected among the 21 masters of watercolor. Numerous articles and reviews have been written by approximately 60 art critics and historians, including: Paolo Levi, Alberto Moioli, Alfredo Pasolino, Elisa Manzoni, Carlo Francou, Fabio Bianchi, Stefania Pieralice, Daniele Radini Tedeschi, and Leslie Dutcher. Two of his works are included in the collection of the Copelouzos Family Art Museum in Athens. His paintings are owned by several collectors (around sixty) in Italy (among others, the conductor Maestro Riccardo Muti, who owns a portrait of him painted by the artist) and, especially, abroad. The artist has often donated several of his works to various charitable initiatives, including, in 2022, The Better World Fund Event for The David Lynch Foundation, a collateral event at the Venice Film Festival, held at La Misericordia. He also donated two medium-large canvases to the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery (Lagos, Nigeria), inspired by Blessed John Paul II.