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Dionisio Cimarelli is an Italian sculptor and educator whose career has developed across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and the United States. Born in Jesi, Italy, he studied sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Carrara and continued his artistic education at the Repin Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg and the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague.
His work is shaped by a deep knowledge of the history of European and Italian sculpture, together with a strong interest in the human figure, form, materials, and the relationship between sculpture and public space. His practice combines artistic research, technical knowledge, and a contemporary vision of sculpture.
Alongside his own artistic work, Cimarelli has contributed to restoration and reconstruction projects for historic monuments and institutions including the Louvre Museum in Paris, the Royal Church in Copenhagen, the Royal Palace in Stockholm, Strasbourg Cathedral, and Westminster in London. These experiences have strengthened his understanding of sculpture as an art form connected to history, architecture, and public life.
His work has been presented internationally in exhibitions and cultural programs including the Berlin Philharmonic, at the invitation of Claudio Abbado, the Venice Art Biennale, and international art biennales in Beijing and Shanghai. In 2010, he created a sculpture of Matteo Ricci for the Italian Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo. The work was later acquired by the Marche Region and is now housed at the Confucius Institute in Macerata, Ricci’s birthplace. It was also exhibited at the Italian Embassy in Beijing.
Cimarelli received scholarships from the National Sculpture Society in New York and the New York Academy of Art. He has taught and lectured at institutions in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and North America, including the Wimbledon School of Art in London, King Saud University in Riyadh, the University of Bangkok, the Fashion Institute of Technology, the New York Academy of Art, and The Art Students League of New York, where he taught from 2015 to 2023 and was granted the status of Emeritus Professor.
His lectures and public programs have brought his work into dialogue with academic, museum, and diplomatic cultural institutions internationally, including Columbia University, leading art academies in China, the Italian Cultural Institute in San Francisco, the Italian Embassy in Yangon, Myanmar, and the RISO Museum of Contemporary Art in Palermo. He has also served as a juror for international sculpture symposia and competitions.
His career has been the subject of academic research at the Academy of Fine Arts in Carrara. He has received recognition at the Senate of the Republic in Rome, and his work is documented in the Treccani Encyclopedia.
Through his work as an artist, educator, lecturer, and contributor to major restoration projects, Cimarelli has built a profile that connects artistic creation, teaching, historical knowledge, and exchange between cultures. His life and work reflect a sustained dedication to sculpture as a contemporary language rooted in the human figure, material understanding, and the dialogue between historical memory and the present.
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