Valentina Grilli

I am an Italian artist graduated in Art’sHistory from the Brera Academy of Fine Arts. My career path was initially oriented towards fashion, working as a textile designer for Roberto Cavalli and Patrizia Pepe, but quickly turned towards the intimacy of painting, where my naturalistic subjects led to my first awards with national prizes and exhibitions in Italy and abroad.

Techniques have always been a crucial knot in my research, investigating different creative possibilities as a self-taught artist, studying the great masters of the past and present and refining egg tempera and dry-brush watercolour in particular.

In the last few years, the latter technique has become my technique of choice; whilst watercolor is traditionally used spontaneously and instinctively, dry brush allows one to combine the lightness of watercolor with a very high degree of detail.

After having mastered this technique, I am currently working on a series of trees that will be shown in my first solo exhibition next fall.

My artworks have been exhibited at OnArt Gallery, Florence, for the group exhibition “I am Nature”, in Marina di Chiavari for the group exhibition “The Ticket Show”, in Turin for the group exhibition “Charta”, at Birla Millennium Art Gallery, London and at Vierraumladen, Berlin.

Among my major awards, second place at Golden Turtle 2021 contest and semifinalist at Figurativas 2022 competition.

Finally, for the last two years I have been giving Dry Brush watercolor workshops in Italy and abroad as well as teaching at the prestigious Raffles fashion and design institute in the heart of Milan. My encounter with graphics and design stimulated me to experiment in the field of illustration as well, us-ing my technical expertise.