Giovanni Mercatelli, an emerging painter born in 1996 in Bologna, currently resides and works in his hometown. From 2016 to 2019, he lived in Eindhoven, Netherlands, where he earned a degree in Industrial Design. His journey then took him to Key West, Florida, where he immersed himself in the vibrant local scene. From 2020 to 2022, Mercatelli resided in Leiden, the Netherlands, where he earned a master’s degree in Industrial Ecology.
Mercatelli’s artistic practice centers on oils, acrylics, and collage on canvas. Using layered spatula strokes, he builds rich, textured backgrounds from which colorful images of people and places emerge—figures shaped by imagination and a visual vocabulary rooted in vintage photo transfers, literature, cinema, and personal memories. His works weave irony with emotional depth, forming visual narratives that probe themes of vulnerability, frustration, desire, and nostalgia.
Giovanni Mercatelli
Born in 1996 in Bologna, Italy
Resides and works in Bologna, Italy
EDUCATION
2016–2019: Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Design, Eindhoven, Netherlands
2020–2022: Master’s Degree in Industrial Ecology, Leiden, Netherlands
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2025 – Dal Mondo Piccolo, Galleria Forni, Bologna, Italy
2025 – Drifting in the Keys, Gallery on Greene, Key West (FL), USA
2024 – Where did all that simplicity go?, The Rooom, Bologna, Italy
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024 – Rassegna Collettiva, Galleria Forni, Bologna, Italy
2024 – Forni in Venice, Galleria Forni, Venice, Italy
2023 – Nuvola in Blu, Galleria Forni, Bologna, Italy
2023 – Cinquerosso Arte, Cinquerosso Arte, Bologna, Italy
ART FAIRS
2025 – Les Chevaliers, Roma Arte in Nuvola, Galleria Forni, Rome, Italy
2024 – Roma Arte in Nuvola, Galleria Forni, Rome, Italy
2023 – Roma Arte in Nuvola, Galleria Forni, Rome, Italy
PRESS
Il Resto Del Carlino: Un ’piccolo mondo’ che nasce per errore
Giovanni Mercatelli 