Marco Tirelli was born in 1956 in Rome, where he currently lives and works. He began exhibiting his work in the second half of the 1970s. At the end of that decade, he moved into the spaces of the former Pastificio Cerere in the San Lorenzo district, alongside artists of the so-called Nuova Scuola Romana. His first participation in the Venice Biennale dates back to 1982, in the Aperto 82 section, with a solo room. Throughout the 1980s, his participation in numerous group exhibitions in Italy and abroad continued steadily. The 1990s began with a show at the American Academy in Rome, which put one of his large drawing installations in dialogue with several Wall Drawings by Sol LeWitt. This was followed by his participation in the 44th Venice Biennale, where he had a dedicated room. Notable exhibitions from this decade include the Sydney Biennale (1990), the São Paulo Biennial (1991), Prospect ’93 at the Kunsthalle Frankfurt (1993), and the 12th Rome Quadriennale (1996). In 2001, Tirelli presented a site-specific installation at the Fondazione Volume! in Rome, where he explored painting in an environmental dimension. In 2002, the Kunsthalle Darmstadt dedicated a major retrospective to him, which was later presented at the GAM – Gallery of Modern Art in Bologna. Tirelli is also a sculptor; in 2009, he created large bronze sculptures for the Gori Collection at the Fattoria di Celle, and in 2013, he realized a monumental installation, comprising hundreds of drawings and sculptures, for the Italian Pavilion at the 55th Venice Biennale. Among his most recent exhibitions are Marco Tirelli, Museo di Palazzo Fortuny, Venice (2010); Marco Tirelli, MACRO, Rome (2012); Soltanto un quadro al massimo, Villa Massimo, Rome, with Bernd and Hilla Becher (2013); Marco Tirelli, National Institute for Graphics, Rome (2013); Osservatorio, Fondazione Pescheria, Pesaro (2014); Proportio, Palazzo Fortuny, Venice (2015); Marco Tirelli, Fondazione Cerere, Rome (2016); Marco Tirelli, Musée d’Art Moderne et Contemporain, Saint-Étienne Métropole, France (2017); Marco Tirelli, House of Art, České Budějovice, Czech Republic (2020); Marco Tirelli, Cardi Gallery, London (2021); Marco Tirelli, Axel Vervoordt Gallery, Antwerp (2022). His works are part of the collections of some of the most important national and international museums and institutions. Tirelli is a member of the Accademia dei Virtuosi del Pantheon and the Accademia Nazionale di San Luca, where he currently serves as President for the 2023-2024 term.