Born in Rome in 1927, Archille Perilli is one of Italy’s earliest abstract painters. Cubism’s influence on Perilli is evident, as his compositions often include changing perspectives. His works can be considered irrational with their confusing and convoluted shapes. In 1947, Perilli, along with a group of fellow Italian artists, was one of the authors of the manifest Forma 1. This manifest was inspired by the ideology of formalism and Marxism. The authors believed there to be a tension between abstraction and realism and favored the use of concrete, geometric shapes.

Perilli has exhibited works at the Venice Biennale, Sao Paulo Biennial, and Biennial Tokyo. He had his first solo exhibition in New York in 1963 at Bonino Gallery. In 2013, Perilli began working on the Catalogue raisonne of his works.