Maria Grazia Minto

Venetian by origin, Padovan by adoption. Since she was a child, she showed imagination and creativity. She was drawn to objects she found around the house that stimulated her imagination: the button box, playing cards, the basket of beautiful leftover fabrics from her mother, the box with safety pins; everything could become something else or could be drawn with new shapes. These objects would later reappear in her latest artistic work among her characters, as if they were a key link between the stages of life. Her art teacher in middle school, Glauco Benito Tiozzo, encouraged her to participate in the International Student Artistic Competition INA TOURING in the Painting section, which was held in Florence, and she won First Prize. She was awarded within the elegant “Palazzo Strozzi” in Florence. This led to her enrollment in the Artistic High School of Padua, where she obtained her Artistic High School diploma, granting her the title of Master of Art. Her first collective and solo exhibitions began in the 1980s and continued into the early 2000s, always receiving favorable reviews from both the public and critics. The Profession She studied various painting techniques: Fresco, Trompe l’oeil, Painting on fabric, Watercolor, and Oil painting on canvas. Many commissioned works were completed. In her latest artistic series, she presents delicate young women with suspended and surprised gazes in an unreal dimension. Exhibitions August-September 2023 – Solo exhibition at “Loggia del Consiglio or della Gran Guardia” – Piazza dei Signori – Padua. November 2020: “Democracy in Art” at the “Venice Art Gallery” in Venice – Prof. Giorgio Gregorio Grasso. “Arte Fiera Padova” in the years 2018-2015–2014 in collaboration with Galleria La Teca, Padua. October 2019 – Participated in the exhibition “Sfumature d’Arte” at the Mazzoleni O.N.L.U.S. Foundation in Alzano Lombardo, Bergamo. September 2019 – Group exhibition at “BCM Art Gallery” in Barcelona. June 2019, during the 58th Venice Biennale, at Palazzo Zenobio (also home to the Armenian Pavilion). Presented by Art Critic and Historian Prof. Giorgio Gregorio Grasso. March 2019 – Awarded as Artist of the Year for the Painting section in the “Galà della Cultura – Testimoni del nostro tempo” dedicated to the cultural excellences of the Camposampierese area in Padua. From July to September 2018 – Solo exhibition at Palazzo Centi in Barcis – Pordenone. Curated and presented by Art Critic Dr. Giuseppe Caracò. MUSEUM ENTRY – From November 2017 to February 2018 – Solo exhibition titled “Beyond the Door” at the Casa Gaia da Camino Museum in Portobuffolè – TV. Maria Grazia Minto’s painting could be described as an elegant blend of reality and imagination, where each stroke seems to tell a story suspended between the visible and the invisible. Her characters, delicate and mysterious, evoke a philosophy of thought that stimulates reflection and inquiry. Emotions and personal experiences translate into shapes and symbols that serve as interpreters of a universal language, where everyday objects like cards and games take on the role of tools for deciphering the future and reality. With an approach that combines play and reflection, Minto manages to transform each of her works into an invitation to explore the world through a different, captivating, and profound lens. Her art is not only a creative act but an open door to a parallel universe, where imagination and rationality coexist harmoniously.