Giordano Gelli (b. 1928)

Giordano Gelli was born in Florence, Italy in 1928. During World War II he worked as a weaver in a textiles plant. The plant was bombed frequently during the war, and Gelli was severely wounded during a raid. The trauma of this experience marked the beginning of his mental illness.

In 1951 at the age of 23, Gelli was institutionalized for the first time. In 1970 his illness had become so severe that he was hospitalized permanently.

As a means to fill his time and let out some creative energy, Gelli began attending workshops at “La Tinaia”. For the first year, he only watched others creating, but later he began to develop his own distinct style and build a body of work.

When institutionalized, he met a woman for whom he felt great passion. In 1981, when his work was at its peak, his girlfriend had a fatal accident. At this time Gelli had a relapse from which he has never recovered. He now attends the “La Tinaia” workshop sporadically.

Giordano Gelli’s artwork is in many important private and public collections, including the Collection de l’Art Brut in Lausanne, Switzerland.