Silvio Porzionato was born in Moncalieri (TO, Italy) in 1971. He is a figurative painter who works primarily with oil on large-scale canvases. He takes photographs of friends and people he meets on the street, which serve as inspiration for his work. His figures are depicted in statuesque close-ups and, although they portray ordinary people, they have the power to transcend the typical private dimension of portraiture and become icons of the human condition.

Silvio graduated from art school and then worked for a decade as head designer for an important Italian company. He later decided to start a new life in the silence of the countryside, in close contact with nature and art. This choice marked a turning point in his career and led to widespread recognition and numerous national awards. After only one year, he was awarded the Mondadori Art Prize and in 2010 he won the Critics’ Prize at Saluzzo Arte and created a permanent work for the Museum of Urban Art in Turin. In 2011, he was selected to participate in the 54th Venice Biennale.

In 2013 he created three installations entitled "Temporal Code", composed of 112 paintings for the MACS (Museum of Contemporary Art in Sicily), forming almost a gallery of mirrors reflecting the different stages of human life from childhood to old age, each portrait expressing the same intensity and significance. His most recent solo and group exhibitions have been held in Hong Kong, Miami, Chicago, London, Paris, Bogotá, New York, Seoul and Istanbul.