Tonino Caputo was born in Lecce (Italy) in 1933. Once he graduated highschool in 1952 he moved to Rome (Italy) and started to study architecture in college, in these years his interest in painting begins. In 1956 supported by poets like Vittorio Pagano and Rina Durante he participates in his first group show were people viewed his figurative drawings. In that same year in Rome he meets Gastone Novelli and begins his research of informal art, this would be his path for the next five years.

In 1958 in Rome he takes part in a group show in the gallery "La Discoteque" together with Cy Twombly, Mimmo Rotella, Carla Accardi, Sanfilippo, Corrado Cagli, Giandomenico Gnoli and Gastone Novelli. In this same period of time Caputo collaborates with various domestic newspapers as a writer and illustrator. During these years he forms a deep cultural friendship with Piero Manzoni and many letters where exchanged between the two of them until the day Piero died in 63'. When Piero Manzoni started creating his first "living sculptures", he signed Caputo's left arm consecrating him as an "eternal work of art" and giving him the authentication slip #3.

From 1963 to 1965 Caputo lived mostly in Paris (France) without loosing his contacts in Rome. He starts a friendship and collaboration with actor Carmelo Bene , whom he met several years prior. This collaboration became more intense from 67' to 69'. During this period Caputo created the theatrical posters and set designs for Bene's shows and in his film "Capricci" Caputo was used both for his set designs and as an actor, his role was that of the "artist". The movie was mostly shot in Caputo's studio in Rome and went on to win a prize at the Cannes film festival.

From 1970 to 1973 Tonino Caputo traveled throughout the countries of Eastern Europe
In 1972 he participates in the Biennale of Venice in the theatre sector for his set designs in the play "Egloga" by Franco Cuomo and Maricla Boggio. This play was performed in the theatre of Palazzo Grassi.

The artist would continue his collaboration with Franco Cuomo creating five prints for "Story of Joan of Arc, the virgin of war and Gilles Del Rais known as Bluebeard" a drama written by Cuomo which was published in the magazine "Sipario" in 1975. He also creates for Cuomo four etchings based on the translation from french of some of Francois Villon's ballads.

In 1974 he forms a close friendship with fellow artist Carlo Quattrucci and in the same year Marcello Venturoli dedicates a monograph to Caputo.
In 1975 Caputo works and lives for a few months in Barcelona with Quattrucci and in the same period collaborates with the magazine "Il Mondo" creating various drawings for them.

1976 was the year in which Caputo would meet the man who would have a large role in the artists life and work until 93', this man was famous art historian Fortunato Bellonzi.
The years of 1977 and 1978 where Tonino Caputo's australian period which became concrete with the realization of two major exhibitions. He also spent some time in the Blue Mountains of Australia with authentic precious gem seekers.

During the 1980's Caputo starts his long and ongoing relationship with the country of Sweden and also begins working with the brothers and gallery owners Ettore and Antonio Russo.

In 1982 the artist gets a studio in New York and from that moment spends part of each year in Manhattan. This is also the time in which the Quadriennale of Art in Rome in collaboration with the ministry of Foreign Affairs begins a series of group shows with the most important Italian artists, including Caputo's etchings, in various museums around the world.

Between the years 83' and 84' he creates two large paintings for the altar of an 18th century church in Quercia di Aulla in Italy.

In 1992 the English magazine "Art & Design", in a research done by the historian Ken Griffith, Caputo was quoted as one of the fifty major and most influential artist of the second half of the 20th century in Italy.

In the late 1990's on commission from the mayor of Helsinborg (Sweden) Caputo creates two lithographs: one of the city's Town Hall, this lithograph will eventually be distributed to various picture galleries of different sister cities (some of which are Helsinor, Hamburg and Pekin). The other lithograph is of S. Basil of Moscow the sale of which helped aid the non-adapted youth of democratic Russia.

Caputo then worked on creating a mosaic in 1999 which was installed in the Bracciano Train Station, this job was commissioned by Nokia and the Lazio Region Railway.

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