Peccioli Celebrates 'Its Painter' Alessandro Ciulli with Posthumous Exhibition

A decade after his death, the Tuscan town of Peccioli honors local artist Alessandro Ciulli (1951–2021) with a solo exhibition at Palazzo Senza Tempo. Known as 'the painter of Fabbrica' after the hamlet where he was born and where his house museum now stands, Ciulli spent his entire career in the Pisa province. The town, recently in the news for its model landfill and contemporary art interventions by David Tremlett and Daniel Buren, lacked such vibrancy during Ciulli's formative years. Curator Alberto Mugnaini notes that pursuing art professionally was then considered inconceivable in that context. Ciulli studied at the Scuola d'Arte di Cascina and the University of Pisa, debuting in 1983 at Giorgio Mancini's space in Pontedera. His paintings, characterized by a secret alphabet of signs, reinterpret 20th-century masters like Klee and O'Keeffe with metaphysical and neo-primitive echoes. The exhibition, held in the renovated multi-level complex by Mario Cucinella Architects, features a panoramic terrace overlooking the valley that inspired many of his works. Peccioli was named 'Borgo dell'Anno' in Artribune's 2021 best-of list.