Nando Chiappa Biography
Nando Chiappa was born in Cinisello Balsamo in 1934. During his youth, in the 1950s, he developed a passion for cycling, becoming a decent US Negrini cyclist. Later, in the 1960s, he began working as a sports manager of the Balsamese and FC Cinisello football teams. It was during this period that he began to approach the artistic world, frequenting the masters Leonardo Spreafico and Osvaldo Pivetta. In the early 1970s, he began his artistic career as a self-taught artist, staging hundreds of personal exhibitions in Italy and abroad, enjoying success with the public and critics. His impressionist painting style, which focuses on the Lombardy countryside, particularly Cinisello Balsamo of the 1940s and 1950s, has earned him the nickname "poet of the fields" and "painter of altar boys". The latter nickname refers to the frequent presence of an altar boy in his works, a role that the artist had attempted, unsuccessfully, to fill in reality due to his lively personality. In his artistic research, Chiappa reduces reality to achieve a perfect formal balance, creating a game of color combinations and tonal balances. The artist simplifies nature, forcing it into an expressive key and highlighting the aesthetic values. For his artistic merits, Nando Chiappa received the Ambrogino d'Oro from the Municipality of Milan, the nomination as Knight of the Italian Republic and in 2007 the civic honor of the Spiga d'oro for the strong bond with Cinisello Balsamo demonstrated by his works and the numerous exhibitions held in the city.
