Valerio Nicolai (Gorizia, IT 1988), lives and works in Milan. He studied at Accademia delle Belle Arti in Venice. Nicolai was awarded the Licini Prize in 2023 and the 2020-21 Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant.

Recent solo exhibition include : Notte da Osvaldo, curated by Alessandro Zechini, Museo Osvaldo Licini, Ascoli Piceno; Solo show, Campoli Presti, Paris (2023), Sole con le code, Clima, Milan (2022); Birthmarker, Galeria Madragoa, Lisbon (2021); Amarena, Clima, Milan (2019) Heart’s rock and Potato’s spirit, Las Palmas Project, Lisbon (2018); Processo a porcospino, Clima, Milan; Prospettiva di una matrioska, smART Foundation, Rome (2017).

Recent group exhibitions include: Gli anni. Episodi di Storia dell’arte a Napoli dagli anni Sessanta a oggi, curated by Eva Fabbris at MADRE Museum, Naples; PORPORA, In continua risonanza at Casa Testori, Milan (2024); Diario Notturno Di sogni, incubi e bestiari immaginari, curated by Bartolomeo Pietromarchi, MAXXI L’Aquila, L’Aquila; Pittura Italiana oggi, curated by Damiano Gullì, Triennale Milano; Premio Termoli LXII, curated by Cristiana Perrella, MACTE, Termoli; Pick Pockets, curated by Renata Lucas and Massimiliano Scuderi, Fondazione Zimei at Teatro Michetti, Pescara (2023), Panorama Monopoli curated by Vincenzo De Bellis (2022); Expectations, curated by Fondazione Zimei, Pescara (2022); Movie Buff, curated by Alfredo Aceto, All Stars, Lausanne ; Sul Disegno e la Pittura (Ne Usciremo), curated by Renato Leotta, Galeria Madragoa, Lisbon; Basta, Palazzo Monti, Brescia (2021); Stasi Frenetica, curated by Ilaria Bonacossa, GAM Torino ; Quadriennale Arte 2020, Roma; Art Residency – Port Tonic Art Center; SWAMP HORSES, Spirit Vessel, Espinavessa (2019); straperetana 2018, curated by Saverio Verini, Pereto (2018); Trigger Party, curated by Andrea Magnani e Zoe De Luca, Marselleria, Milan (2018); Shit and Die, curated by Maurizio Cattelan, Palazzo Cavour, Turin (2014).

Upcoming exhibitions: Facile ironia. L’ironia nell’arte italiana tra XX e XXI secolo, curated by Lorenzo Balbi and Caterina Molteni at MAMbo, Bologna, February 2025