Dionisio Cimarelli

Dionisio Cimarelli (born September 8, 1965 in Jesi, Italy) is an Italian sculptor known for contemporary figurative sculptures in Chinese porcelain and a sculpture of Matteo Ricci.

In 1975, his aptitude was already noticed when he received the first prize for a painting submitted to the local Premio Natale, an artistic competition exclusively designed for primary school students.

In 1983, Cimarelli earned a diploma in sculpture at Liceo artistico (formerly Istituto Statale d'Arte "E. Mannucci") in Ancona, Italy.

From 1983-1990, he produced works in terracotta, wood, bronze, and marble.

To collect information for his thesis, in 1986 Dionisio traveled to China on the Trans-Siberian Railway to China.

The trip was made possible by a letter of invitation from the sculptor, then president of the Art Academy.

His travel history and his pictures while traveling were published on July 1988 on the Italian magazine “Tuttoturismo” in Milan, Italy.

In 1989, he graduated in sculpture from the Accademia di Belle Arti di Carrara, Italy.

From 1990-1991, he worked on the renovation of the Court Napoleon at the Louvre Museum in Paris.

The courtyard surrounds the Louvre Pyramid designed by I.M. Pei.

Inspired by his conservation experience at the Louvre Museum in Paris, France, Cimarelli moved to figurative sculpture in 1991.

Studying techniques from sculptors such as Donatello, Michelangelo, Jacopo della Quercia, and Gian Lorenzo Bernini, he produced sculpture in wood, bronze, stone, and marble.

In 1994, Cimarelli was awarded a diploma in sculpture at Scola prufesciunela per la artejanat artistich (School of specialization in sculpture of wooden figure) in Sëlva di Val Gardena, Italy.

In 1995, he enrolled at the University of Paris in Paris, France.

In 1995, he worked on the Christiansborg Palace Chapel in Copenhagen, Denmark.

In 1997, he studied with sculptor Mikhail Anikushin at the Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg, Russia.

In 1998, he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts, Prague, Czech Republic.

Abstract

Cimarelli's began his career creating abstract anthropomorphic shapes inspired by surrealism.

In 1998, he worked the Strasbourg Cathedral in Strasbourg, France and the Porte d'Aix in Marseille, France.

Invited by Claudio Abbado, Cimarelli's first abstract sculpture exhibition was organized by at the Berliner Philharmonie in Berlin, Germany in 1999.

Realism

In 2001, he created a marble sculpture of St. John the Baptist that was first exhibited in Oslo, Norway.

Figurative Chinese Series

In 2002, he restored the Institution of Civil Engineers headquarters in London, England.

The following year, he worked on the restoration of the Stockholm Palace and House of Nobility in Stockholm, Sweden.

From 2007-2008, Cimarelli create a series of contemporary figurative sculpture in porcelain with colorful, jewel-like surface finishing in Jingdezhen in the Jiangxi province of China.

Cimarelli has participated in several large sculptural and architectural restoration projects.

From 2007-2010, Cimarelli served as Art Supervisor for the Zhongkai Sheshan Villas in Shanghai, China.

Designed by ten architectural firms from United States, the project consisted of 81 contemporary luxury villas.

Four of the villas were designed by Mack Scogin of Mack Scogin Merrill Elam, architect and adjunct Professor of Architecture at Harvard University.

Built with stone, marble, wood, and metal, Cimarelli oversaw the quality of materials and construction for the project.

The Matteo Ricci sculpture was made in China, for the ITALY Pavilion at Shanghai World Expo 2010, on the 400th anniversary of his death.

At the end of the show, it was also displayed for about two years at the Italian Embassy in Beijing.

The sculpture is now property of the Government of the Marche Region and it stands today at the entrance of the Confucius Institute of Macerata, while the plaster model is permanently placed at the main entrance of the Consulate General of Italy in Shanghai, China.

In 2013 Finishing Performance of the original model in plaster of Matteo Ricci sculpture at the Italian Centre, former Italy Pavilion of Shanghai World EXPO 2010, Shanghai (China)

Cimarelli has been a visiting scholar at Faculty of Fine Arts of Bundipatanasilpa Institute University in Bangkok, Thailand, Wimbledon College of Art in London, England, and King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

He has held faculty positions at Fashion Institute of Technology, New York Academy of Art in New York City and from 2015 to 2023 at The Art Students League of New York

He was born in Jesi, and at the age of seven, his family relocated to the nearby town of Moie di Maiolati Spontini, hometown of the composer Gaspare Spontini.

Since early age, Cimarelli showed an exceptional sensitivity and a strong attraction to the world of art, despite having no family background in artistic pursuits and no exposure to discussions about art.