Pietro Coletta was born in Bari on December 2, 1948. In 1967, he moved to Milan and enrolled at the Brera Academy, where he attended sculpture courses taught by Marino Marini, Alik Cavaliere, and Lorenzo Pepe. In 1969, he took a studio on Corso Garibaldi, where he still works and lives. He has since participated in many major national and international exhibitions: from the San Fedele Prize in Milan to the XV Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto; from the 1975 Rome Quadriennale to “Pittura Ambiente” at the Royal Palace of Milan in 1979, the Lenbachhaus in Munich, the Hayward Gallery in London with “Italian Art 1960-82”, the Power Gallery in Sydney and the University Art Museum in Brisbane, and the Venice Biennale, Italian Pavilion. In 1984, he took part in “Costruire l’illusione” at the ELAC of Contemporary Art of the city of Lyon. In 1987, the Contemporary Art Pavilion in Milan hosted a solo exhibition of his work. In 1990, he exhibited at the Toyama Biennale in Japan, followed by exhibitions in South America at the Sofia Imber Museum in Caracas, the museum in Bogotá, and Buenos Aires. In 1995, he exhibited again in Italy and inaugurated a permanent installation at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tortoli. In 2004, he participated in “Italian Sculpture 1960-2004” at the “La Palomba” Sculpture Park in Matera and the Mudima Foundation in Milan. In 2005, he participated in the exhibition “Italian Sculpture of the 20th Century” at the Arnaldo Pomodoro Foundation in Milan. In 2006, notable exhibitions included “Mitos — Myths and Archetypes in the Sea of Knowledge” at the Byzantine and Christian Museum of Athens, as well as in Tirana, Monte Carlo, and Cyprus. In 2007, “Spirit into Shape Contemporary Italian Sculpture” was held at the Italian Embassy in Washington. In 2009, he created the permanent installation “Essence of Flight, Flight of the Essence” at UCLA University in Los Angeles. In 2013, some of his sculptures were requested for the “International Sculpture 2013” exhibition at the Hangaram Museum in Seoul; he also held a major solo exhibition at the Mudima Foundation in Milan, presenting large installations. From 2010 to 2015, he was a sculpture professor at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan, and since 2016, he has been a member of the National Academy of San Luca in Rome. Some of his works have been exhibited in institutional settings, including the courtyard of the Conservatory, the Sormani Library, and Palazzo della Permanente in Milan. From 2017 to 2023, he exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in various galleries and fairs across Italy.
