Rodolfo Aricò was born in Milan on June 3, 1930. From 1946 until 1950 he attended the arts high school of Brera, then he moved on to the department of architecture at the Politecnico of Milan from 1950 until 1955. During these years, he had his first artistic experiences, but he continued to cultivate his interest in architecture.
In 1959 he completed his first personal exhibition, held at the Salone Annunciata in Milan. Three years later, he had his second solo show in the same space and also participated in the group exhibition “Nuove prospettive della pittura italiana” at the Palazzo Re Enzo in Bologna. In 1964 he took part in the XXXII Biennial of Venice. In 1967 he showed at the Galleria l'Attico in Rome, and the following year he was invited to show in a personal show room at the XXXIV Biennial of Venice, in which he presented a space occupied by large works from which emerge the structural character of the painting-object.
In 1970 Aricò began to focus his studies on the perspective, according to a goal that he himself defined as “transgressed representation”. In 1971 he was invited to take part in the exposition “Homage a Joan Mirò” and that same year he began his academic career when he began teaching scenography at the fine arts academy of Urbino. In 1973 he participated, together with Carlo Battaglia, Claudio Verna and Giorgio Griffa, in the exhibition “Iononrappresentonullaiodipingo”, held at the Studio La Città in Verona. The following year, he was invited to the Palazzo Grassi in Venice for an anthological exhibition, “Work in progress”, a series of works already started in 1968.
In 1978 he made the set design for the Teatro dell'Assurdo of Tardieu at Teatro Pier Lombardo in Milan. That year he also participated in the group exhibition “I nodi della rappresentazione” at the Pinacoteca comunale of Ravenna, where he had the opportunity to present Scena di Ravenna, a work of large proportions that attempted to represent a type of contamination between painting, art, and scenography. Also in 1978, he obtained the chair of scenography at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera. In 1980 he held a solo exhibition at the Casa del Mantegna in Mantua, which was focused on the research of the relationships between painting, architecture, and myth.
In 1989 he had a exhibition at Lorenzelli Arte in Milan, where his works were exhibited along with those of Piero Dorazio, Vittorio Matino, Gardait and Jackson. In the same year he held a personal show at the Turchetto/Plurima Gallery in Milan, where he was invited also to exhibit in the group show “Le differenze somigliano. Otto pittori 1970-1990”. Also in 1989, he participated in “Quei problematici anni Settanta”, at the Galleria dei Banchi Nuovi in Rome. In 1993 he held a solo show at Lorenzelli Arte in Milan. In 1995 he had another solo show at Lorenzelli Arte in Milan, entitled “Corrispondenze”.
His last show was held at the Galleria Spazio Annunciata of Milan in 2001. Rodolfo Aricò died in Milan on June 22, 2002.