Nina Pettinato (*1975) is a visual artist who has worked with the media of painting, drawing and photography for many years. In the context of her artistic practice she considers the theoretical examination of the art-historical perspective of the respective medium to be just as important as the practical work in the studio. Since 2018 painting has become the central focus of her artistic work.

Nina Pettinato's understanding of art, design and architecture is strongly influenced by the fascination for the subcultural protest movements of the 70s and 80s and is largely determined by the passion for European auteur cinema and the history of photography. Early on, Nina Pettinato also developed a great interest in psychology in the sense of 'Seelenkunde' and since then has been involved with studies on individual development, on the theses of psychoanalysis and on new, scientific disciplines that aim to set out to interweave classic theories with new, technical processes.

After graduating from high school in 1994, Nina Pettinato first decided to study biology at the University of Heidelberg and discovered classic, scientific illustrations, which at that time were still predominantly in the form of filigree, carefully colored hand drawings. In 2000 Nina Pettinato finally decided to do a second degree at the HfG Hochschule für Gestaltung in Offenbach. The course of studies 'Visual Arts' comprised seminars, lectures and workshops at the HfG Offenbach as well as the lecture program at the Städelschule in Frankfurt. In addition, she supports the library and the art history department as a scientific assistant and is involved in the student committees of the art school. She successfully completed her studies in 2008 with a diploma.

After her studies, Nina Pettinato took part in numerous group exhibitions in Germany and abroad and gained the attention of the professional audience through her first solo exhibitions. In 2009 she was awarded the 'Kunstpreis des Bezirks Schwaben', which supported her successful application to participate in the postgraduate program of the 'International Studio and Curatorial Program ISCP New York'. During her three-month stay in New York in 2010, Nina Pettinato realized the long-term photo project 'If you see something, say something' and was resident of the PointB Artist Residency. After her return to Germany, the solo exhibition of the same name in the Neue Galerie at Höhmannhaus Augsburg had a very positive response and a review of the catalogue was published in PHOTONEWS magazine. Thanks to the multi-year support from the 'Bayerisches Atelierförderprogramm' and the approval of a start-up grant for 'Studio Nina Pettinato', she was able to further advance her artistic development in terms of content and form and thereby achieve a professional level.

From 2014 until 2022 Nina Pettinato was the director of the art space 'BNKR - current reflections on art and architecture' in Munich / Nord-Schwabing. The strength of the BNKR concept was based on its structural flexibility and the conscious decision to pursue transdisciplinary diversity: through the programs of the annually appointed external curators, the high-rise bunker was transformed into a place of artistic practice and cultural participation and put up current topics at the interface of art and architecture for discussion. For her successful work as a cultural producer, Nina Pettinato was awarded by the Deutscher Kulturrat Berlin (German Cultural Council) in 2022 and became a mentee in the prestigious 'Mentoringprogramm für Frauen in Kultur und Medien'.

Since 2023, Nina Pettinato puts the focus again on her own artistic work. She currently lives and works in Munich (Germany).