Born in Settignano in Tuscany in 1940, Paolo Scheggi trained at the Istituto Statale d’Arte (State Institute of Art) and the Accademia di Belle Arti (Academy of Fine Arts), both in Florence.
A connection with London, unusual for his cohort, began when he was nineteen and moved to the city. He studied graphic design and researched the work of British artists, including Ben Nicholson’s reliefs whose spatial concerns and physicality can be seen informing the younger artist’s eventual oeuvre.
A move to Milan in 1961 resulted in Scheggi’s emergence as an artist of national importance. Zone Riflesse, offered in our October 2026 MODERN MADE auction, is a beautiful example of what Hugo von Hoffmansthal described as the ‘extraordinary poetic and formal coherence’ of the works he made between 1962 and 1964. It inspires a rich viewer experience, starting with the particular pitch of the ‘rosa’ (pink) acrylic paint which vibrates on the colour spectrum somewhere between pink and orange. Shadows cast by the ovoids onto the multiple layers of canvas encourage close and lateral inspection, prompting a physical engagement with the work and the space within which it – and the viewer – exist together.
Scheggi’s international reputation was secured by participation in the 33rd Biennale di Venezia (Venice Biennale) of 1966.
