Walter Valentini

Walter Valentini studied engraving and graphic arts at the Institute of Fine Arts in Urbino and the Scuola del Libro. Deeply influenced by Renaissance art and mathematical precision, Valentini was also inspired by modern movements such as constructivism and metaphysical painting. By the 1950s, he returned to Milan and began working professionally in both graphic design and fine art, collaborating with notable modernists and gradually developing his own distinct visual language.

Valentini’s work is known for its geometric abstraction, characterized by architectural structures, circular forms, lines, and symbolic motifs. He explored metaphysical ideas such as time, space, and order through rigorous compositions that evoke celestial mechanics, Renaissance perspective, and cosmological harmony. His use of white surfaces contrasted with gold, black, or deep blue created a sense of depth and transcendence. Valentini often referred to his paintings and engravings as “architectures of time,” blending exactitude with poetry.

Some of his most notable works include the series Le Stanze del Tempo (“Rooms of Time”), Le misure, il cielo (“The Measures, the Sky”), and Città del Sole (“City of the Sun”). Valentini exhibited widely in Italy and abroad from the 1970s onward, with major retrospectives at CAMeC (La Spezia, 2013), Museo della Permanente (Milan), and international biennales. His works are now housed in major institutions, including MoMA (New York), Museo della Grafica (Pisa).