Edoarda Emilia Maino (1930-2004), better known as Dadamaino, was a pivotal figure in Italy's post-war avant-garde art scene. After studying pharmacy, she turned to art in the late 1950s, immersing herself in the vibrant Milanese environment that revolved around Lucio Fontana. Her early work, the "Volumes" consisted of perforated monochrome canvases exploring the relationship between painting and space. In 1959, she joined the Gruppo Azimuth, co-founded by Piero Manzoni, with whom she developed a close friendship. In the 1960s, her research shifted toward kinetic and programmed art with her Optical-Dynamic Objects.
Her works have been exhibited in numerous international museums and galleries, including the MoMA in New York and the Centre Pompidou in Paris. She participated in the Venice Biennale twice (1980 and 1990) and had a retrospective at the Padiglione d'Arte Contemporanea in Milan in 1983. Her pieces are held in major collections, such as the Tate Modern in London and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice