Tarshito, also known as Nicola Strippoli (1952), is a renowned contemporary Italian artist, architect, and art professor at the Academy of Fine Arts. He works across various media and is actively involved in collaborations with traditional Indigenous art worldwide.
Originally from Bari, in southern Italy, Tarshito ventured to India in the late 1970s, where he began creative collaborations with traditional Indian artists and developed his distinctive, powerful, and innovative style. Since then, throughout his frequent visits to India and other parts of the world, the Italian artist has continued collaborating with traditional art professionals.
Throughout his long and rich career, Tarshito has worked with a contemporary vision of art in collaboration with indigenous traditions from countries such as Morocco, Mexico, Peru, Nepal, South Korea, Bangladesh, China, Brazil, Thailand, Colombia, Argentina, Myanmar, Mongolia, and more. His works have been exhibited in various museums around the world, including:
- Crafts Museum, Delhi, India, 2001
- National Museum Szczecin, Poland, 2009
- Triennale, Milan, Italy, 2014
- City Museum, Kathmandu, Nepal, 2015
- National Museum Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2016
- The Lapidarium Museum, Zagreb, Croatia, 2016
- Pinacoteca C. Giaquinto, Bari; Museo Civico, Bari; Museo Archeologico di Santa Scolastica, Bari, Italy, 2020
- Museo Ribezzo, Brindisi; Museo Castromediano, Lecce; Museo del Territorio, Foggia; Puglia, Italy, 2022
- Taminango Museum, Pasto, Colombia, 2023
- Bihar Museum, Patna, India, 2023
- Crafts Museum, Delhi, India, 2024
- MAPI Museum and Gurvich Museum, Montevideo, Uruguay, 2024
- Morskie Centrum Nauki, Szczecin, Poland, 2024
- National Chinggis Khaan Museum, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, 2024
- Raffles City Center Art Space, Beijing, China, 2024
- Le Guan Tang Art Space, Tianjin, China, 2024
He has participated in the Venice Biennale in Delhi in 2011, the Cusco Biennale in 2021-2022, and the Wuhan Biennale in 2024. His works have also been exhibited at Italian Cultural Institutes in Mexico City, Mexico; Lima, Peru; Rabat, Morocco; Montevideo, Uruguay; Delhi, India; Seoul, South Korea; Zagreb, Croatia; and Copenhagen, Denmark.
In recent years, Tarshito has been painting half of his artworks in Italy with his team and then embarking on a pilgrimage to various countries, where local artists collaborate to complete the pieces. This way, each artwork is created in a spirit of collaboration and unity, fostering brotherhood and sisterhood among people in an innovative context.
In addition to painting, Tarshito’s works include carpet weaving, embroidery, terracotta sculpture, miniatures, and large vase sculptures. His art is characterized by personal interaction, shared inspiration, and a vision for a New Earth and a New Humanity.
