Nicola De Maria

De Maria earned a Masters degree in medicine[4] but then in 1977 he executed his first wall painting in Milan. In the same year of 1977 DeMaria exhibited at the Paris Biennale.[5]

He is most often associated with the art group termed the Transavanguardia, a movement named and first exhibited by the Italian art critic and curator Achille Bonito Oliva at the "Aperto 80" section of the 39th Venice Biennale in 1980.[6] Along with De Maria the principal transavantgarde artists were; Sandro Chia, Francesco Clemente, Enzo Cucchi, Nino Longobardi, Luigi Ontani, and Mimmo Paladino.[7]

In 1982 De Maria's work was included in documenta 7 in Kassel, Germany.

In 1990 De Maria once again exhibited at the Venice Biennale to which he contributed five "Space Paintings".[8] His work was shown in the Italian Pavillion in an effort curated by Laura Cherubini, Flaminio Gualdoni, and Lea Vergine.

In 2013 there was a retrospective of his work held at the Turin Civic Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art, "The Madness to Come" curated by Danilo Eccher.[9]

• Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam[10]
• Pompidou Centre, Paris[11]
• Castello di Rivoli in Turin,Italy[12]
• Palazzi d'ell Arte Rimini, Rimini, Italy[13]