Marco Cingolani was born in Como in 1961 and moved to Milan in 1978, when he was still very young. Here he entered creative underground circles, in which art was mixed up with fashion and punk music. In those years, a new artistic sensitivity was arising in Milan, with roots no longer in the history of art and quotationism, for it brought about a critical manipulation of reality and its communication through the mass media.

The image was removed from its context and from common feelings. It was radically overturned and almost derided. Right from the outset, Marco Cingolani's work has always aimed to do away with the prescriptive power of media images, subjecting them to his radical treatment in the certainty that art offers a decisive point of view for interpreting the world. This was the context that led to paintings like Interviste (Interviews), in which personalities who are famous for their reservedness are overwhelmed by microphones, the celebrated series on the Attentato al Papa (The Attack on the Pope), and the tragic affair of Aldo Moro.

After his works were shown in several group exhibitions, including Una scena emergente (1991, Museo Pecci, Prato) and Due o tre cose che so di loro (1998, PAC, Milan), important anthological shows of his works have been put on by prestigious institutions, including Palazzo Strozzi in Florence and the Promotrice delle Belle Arti in Turin. In November 2006 he took part in the Senza Famiglia group exhibition at Palazzo della Promotrice delle Belle Arti in Turin.

2007 brought yet another consecration of his work: Galleria Emilio Mazzoli hosted a show entitled Di che colore sono?, which presented his pictorial reflections on the colour of Power and its disguises.

In his art Cingolani has always been fascinated by the shift from news to history and vice versa. Here too, the blue helmets of the UN are contextualised in highly symbolic settings, as are the red urn containing electoral ballots, the multicoloured segments of Wall Street graphics, and the military uniforms and flags of political parties.

In 2009 Marco Cingolani, often the creator of works that are openly inspired by religious themes, conceived Journeys of Faith for Gallery Boxart in Verona. This is a return to his origins. For this exhibition the artist has particularly focused his attention on two apparitions of the Virgin Mary which have played a hugely important role in the history of the past two centuries: Lourdes and Fatima.

That year, his works were shown at the Museo Nazionale di Villa Giunigi in Lucca alongside those of Italy's top artists of the past two generations. These ranged from universally acclaimed masters, whose works are in the top international museums, including Mimmo Paladino, Sandro Chia and Salvo, to some of the top names at the 52nd Venice Biennale, like Gian Marco Montesano, Daniele Galliano, Nicola Bolla, and Bertozzi & Casoni, who exhibited in 2009 both at the Lucca show and at the Italian Pavilion in Venice. Then there were artists of the youngest generation, who were already exhibiting at national and international events.

Giacinto di Pietrantonio invited him the following year, in 2010, to PAC, Padiglione d’Arte Contemporanea in Milan, for the Ibrido group exhibition along with Jan Fabre, Gilbert & George, Charles Avery, Damien Hirst, Piotr Uklanski, Patrick Tuttofuoco and other great names in international art. 2012 was the year of  Il Belpaese dell’arte, at GAMeC in Bergamo, also curated by di Pietrantonio and Maria Cristina Rodeschini, together with Elmgreen & Dragset, Sislej Xhafa, Alighiero Boetti, Maurizio Cattelan, Alterazioni Video, and many other famous names in the world of art.

To celebrate his fiftieth birthday, in 2011, the city of Como put on an anthological exhibition of his works in three institutions: the Broletto, the Pinacoteca Civica and the municipal library.

In 2018 Cingolani presented his own exhibition Lupercalia aujourd’hui at Museo d’Arte Contemporanea Renato Guttuso in Bagheria, Sicily.

Solo exhibitions

2018 Lupercalia aujourd’hui, Museo d’Arte Contemporanea Renato Guttuso, Bagheria, Italy

2015 Uncanny Zone, Thomas Brambilla Gallery, Bergamo, Italy

2013 Sguardi luminosi, Turin, Italy

2012 Botteghe oscure e altri comics, Chieti, Italy
Articolate evoluzioni. Indagini del tempo attuale, Milan, Italy

2011 A perdita d’occhio, Broletto, Pinacoteca Civica, Biblioteca Comunale, Como, Italy

2009 Journeys of faith (Percorsi della fede), Boxart Gallery, Verona, Italy

2007 Finalmente a casa, Antonio Colombo Arte Contemporanea, Milan, Italy
Di che colore sono?, 51 quadri nuovi sui colori del Potere, curated by G. Romano, Galleria Emilio Mazzoli, Modena, Italy

2004 Marco Cingolani, Galleria Fabj Basaglia, Rimini, Italy

2003 La lunga notte di Paparazzo, with text by L. Beatrice, Palazzo della Ragione, Mantova, Italy

2002 Bang Bang, Palazzo Strozzi, Florence, Italy
Doppio verso, catalogue with text by R. Gavarro, Scuderie Aldobrandini per l’Arte, Frascati (Rome), Italy
I miei poeti, i miei colori, catalogue with text by L. Cherubini, V. Zeichen, Galleria Borghese, Rome, Italy
Stropicciarsi gli occhi, Palazzo della Promotrice delle Belle Arti, Turin, Italy

2001 Società anonima del colore, Boxart Gallery, S.Bonifacio (Verona), Italy
I miei migliori amici, Galleria In Arco, Turin, Italy

2000 Ho un appuntamento, Antonio Colombo Arte Contemporanea, catalogue with texts by A. Nove, Milano, Italy
Cingolani 1990-2000, MAN-Museo d'Arte di Nuoro, catalogue with text by di L. Beatrice, M. Meneguzzo, Nuoro, Italy
Hotel des etrangers, with A. Martegani, French Institute of Culture, Florence, Italy

1999 Amore a prima vista, catalogue with text by Achille Bonito Oliva, Galleria Bagnai, Siena, Italy
Tre aeroporti in un giorno, Galleria Majorana, Brescia, Italy

1998 Pittori innamorati, Galleria Raab, Berlin, Germany
Divina Mimesis, catalogue with texts by V. Coen, G. Romano, Palazzo S.Giovanni in Monte, Università di Bologna, Bologna, Italy

1997 Una mostra da leggere, with text by R. Caldura, Galleria Biagiotti, Florence, Italy
Museo Laboratorio, with P. Pusole, catalogue with text by L. Beatrice, Università La Sapienza, Rome, Italy

1996 Inaspettata, catalogue with text by Luca Beatrice, with P. Pusole, Galleria In Arco, Turin, Italy
Contemporanea 2, catalogue with text by L. Caramel, Villa Olmo, Como, Italy

1995 Il golfo e l'amore, with A. Martegani, Galleria Mazzoli, Modena, Italy
Terra e cielo da sempre uniti, Galleria Mazzoli, Modena, Italy

1994 La verità, Galleria Loft, Valdagno (Vicenza), Italy

1993 Rissa all' ONU, catalogue with texts by Elio Grazioli and Gianni Romano, Galleria Analix, Ginevra, Switzerland

1992 Antologica, Galleria Mariottini, Arezzo, Italy
Il disegno e la verità, solo show with A. Martegani, Galleria Loft, Valdagno (Vicenza), Italy
Documentario, with M. Kaufmann, Galleria In Arco, Turin, Italy

1991 Refurtive, catalogue with text by Giacinto Di Pietrantonio, Galleria Paolo Majorana, Brescia, Italy

1990 I.N.R.I., Spazio di Via Lazzaro Palazzi, Milano Galleria Diagramma, Milan, Italy

1989 Marco Cingolani, Galleria Diagramma, Milan, Italy

Group exhibitions

2020 Distanziamenti, Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea “Osvaldo Licini”, Ascoli Piceno, Italy
Pittori fantastici nella valle del Po, PAC - Padiglione d'Arte Contemporanea, Ferrara, Italy

2018 Sulla pittura, Spazio Siena, Siena, Italy

2017 Arte CONTRO la corruzione, Casa Testori, Novate Milanese, Italy
L'arte e la croce, Palazzo Ducale, Massa, Italy

2016 ARTE FORTE: La Babele di linguaggi e di simboli legati ai conflitti, Forte Corno and Forte Larino, Trento, Italy
Liberi Tutti! Arte e Società in Italia 1989 – 2001, Museo Ettore Fico, Turin, Italy
 

2015 Der Beste Anfang, (with Ron Gorchov, Thomas Helbig, Klaus Rinke), Thomas Brambilla Gallery, Bergamo, Italy
Liberi Tutti!, Museo Ettore Fico, Turin, Italy
La famosa invasione degli artisti a Milano, Milan, Italy
LandScapes - Dialoghi intorno alla terra, Verbania, Italy
Com'è viva la città. Art & the city 1913-2014, Como, Italy
Accademia Italia, Genoa, Italy

2014 Spazio privato, Milan, Italy

2013 IndexG, Lissone (Monza and Brianza), Italy
Too big or not too big, Bergamo, Italy
Antologia di un progetto, Florence, Italy
(P). (P)arerga e (P)aralipomena della (P)ittura, Canneto Sull'Oglio (Mantova), Italy
Peintres d'aujourd'hui France-Italie/Pittori d'oggi Francia-Italia VIII edizione 2013, Turin, Italy

2012 Premio delle Arti Premio della Cultura 2012-XXIV edizione, Milan, Italy
Something Else!!!!, Milan, Italy
Marco Cingolani - Botteghe oscure e altri comics, Chieti, Italy
Ethos. Il luogo dell'abitare, Milan, Italy
POPism. L'arte in Italia dalla teoria dei mass media ai social network/63° edizione del Premio Michetti, Francavilla Al Mare (Chieti), Italy
Segni, Roma, Italy
Apparizioni a Mezzogiorno. Artisti marchigiani d'oggi, Salerno, Italy
Articolate evoluzioni. Indagini del tempo attuale, Milan, Italy
Anni '90, Milan, Italy
Distillati d'Arte Contemporanea. 25 Artisti per il Museo delle Genti d'Abruzzo, Pescara, Italy
STORYBOARD. Trenta autori per un diario e alcuni corpi estranei, Canneto Sull'Oglio (Mantova), Italy
IL BELPAESE DELL'ARTE. Etiche ed Estetiche della Nazione, Bergamo, Italy
Collezioni alle Stelline, Collezione Alessandro Grassi, Milan, Italy

2010 Ibrido, curated by Giacinto di Pietrantonio and Francesco Garutti, PAC, Padiglione d’Arte Contemporanea, Milan, Italy

2009 Italian Pavillon, LIII Biennale di Venezia, Venice, Italy
Appetite for Destruction, Museo Nazionale di Villa Guinigi, Lucca, Italy
Giorni Felici, Casa Testori, Milan, Italy

2008 Collezione Farnesina, curated by M. Calvesi, L. Canova, M. Meneguzzo, M. Vescovo, Experimenta, Palazzo della Farnesina, Rome, Italy
Viva l’Italia, Il racconto delle città tra nascita, sviluppo, crisi. 1948-2008, Museo della città, Palazzo della Penna, Perugia, Italy
Bateau Ivre, curated by M. Meneguzzo, Azienda Agricola Icario, Montepulciano (Siena), Italy

2007 Arcani Maggiori, curated by M. Kaufmann, Antonio Colombo Arte Contemporanea, Milan, Italy

2006 Ars In Fabula, curated by M. Sciaccaluga, Palazzo Pretorio, Certaldo (Florence), Italy

2005 XIV Quadriennale di Roma, Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna, Rome, Italy
Intermedia Painting, curated by L. Beatrice, Giampiero Biasutti Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Turin, Italy

2004 Senza Freni!, Galleria Antonio Colombo Arte Contemporanea, Milan, Italy
L’arte in testa, curated by L. Beatrice, Museo MACI, Isernia, Italy

2003 La pittura come concetto, curated by L. Beatrice, Associazione culturale Prometeo, Lucca, Italy

2002 De gustibus, Palazzo delle Papesse, Siena, Italy
Premio Michetti, Francavilla Al Mare (Chieti), Italy

2001 Odissea dell’arte, Museo Revoltella, Trieste, Italy
Sui Generis, PAC, Milan, Italy

2000 Futurama, Museo Pecci, Prato, Italy
Premio Michetti, Francavilla Al Mare (Chieti), Italy
Arte in giro, Ex Mattatoio, Rome, Italy

1999 The Turn of the Century, Galleria In Arco, Turin, Italy
Pittura Italiana, Palazzo Sarcinelli, Conegliano Veneto (Treviso), Italy
Omaggi-Oltraggi, Galleria Gianferrari - Galleria Ciocca, Milan, Italy
S.M.A.C.K., Musée d’Art Contemporaine di Gent, Gent, Belgium
Porta d’Oriente, Palazzo Tupputi, Bisceglie (Bari-Andria-Trani), Italy
Lepisma Saccarina, Magazzino d’Arte Moderna, Rome, Italy
Premio Marche, Reggia Vanvitelliana, Ancona, Italy
Disegno italiano, Magazzini Arte Moderna, Rome, Italy
Arte in Giro, Santuario di Oropa, Oropa, Biella, Italy
Arte Moltiplicata, Pinacoteca Civica, Bagnacavallo (Ravenna), Italy

1998 Due o tre cose che so di loro, P.A.C., Milan, Italy
Mitovelocità, Galleria D’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, San Marino, Repubblica di San Marino
Cronache Vere, Spazio Consolo, Milan, Italy

1997 Arte all’Arte, sedi varie, Galleria Continua, S.Gimignano (Siena), Italy
Arte Italiana degli anni ‘90, Museu d’art contemporain, Valencia, Spain
Group exhibition, Galleria Biagiotti, Florence, Italy
Periscopio 1997, Cascina Roma, S.Donato Milanese (Milan), Italy
Pensieri scritti a colori, Salone del libro di Torino, Turin, Italy

1996 Arte italiana dal 1960, Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, Seoul, South Korea
Carte Italiane, Istituto Italiano di Cultura, Athens, Greece
Antologia, Spazio Herno, Torino / Trevi Flash Art Museum, Trevi (Perugia), Italy
Fuori Uso, Deposito FEA, Pescara, Italy
Il nibbio di Leonardo, Palazzo Pio, Carpi (Modena), Italy

1995 The image of Europe, Nicosia, Cipro
Artist’s Choice, Accademia Americana, Rome, Italy
Oltre la normalità concentrica, Palazzo Zara, Padua, Italy
Dodici pittori italiani, Spazio Herno, Turin, Italy
Fuori uso, Spazio Aurum, Pescara, Italy
CD Room, Galleria Continua, S.Gimignano (Siena), Italy

1994 Prima Linea, Trevi Flash Art Museum, Trevi (Perugia), Italy
Que bien resistes!, Galleria Civica d’Arte Contemporanea, Arezzo, Italy
Estetica del delitto, Galleria Tossi, Prato, Italy

1993 Pentalogo, Galleria Mazzoli, Modena, Italy
Documentario 2, Spazio Opos, Milan, Italy
La linea dell’immagine, Antico Chiostro di S. Antonio, Perugia, Italy
Segni e disegni, Galleria In Arco, Torino; Loft, Valdagno (Vicenza); Galleria Margiacchi, Arezzo; Galerie Analix, Geneve, Switzerland

1992 International Malerwochen, Neue Galerie, Graz, Austria
Italiensk Samtidskunst, Skive Kunst Museum, Skive, Denmark
Immagini di Pittura, Studio Cannaviello, Milan, Italy
An emerging scene of Italy, Museo del XX secolo, Vienna, Austria

1991 Una scena emergente, Centro per l’Arte Contemporanea L. Pecci, Prato, Italy
Imprevisto, Castello di Volpaia, Radda in Chianti (Siena), Italy
La scena, Museum des 20 Jahrhunderts, Vienna, Austria

1990 Il teatro degli interni, Castello di Rivara, Rivara (Turin), Italy
Absolut Politik, Galleria Diagramma, Milan.

1988 Arte giovane Italiana, Galeria Buades, Madrid, Spain

1987 Ge.Mi.To., Promotrice delle Belle Arti, Turin, Italy