BIOGRAPHY
CESARE CATANIA
Painter,
sculptor and digital artist - born in 1979 - he began his career over
a decade ago by merging in his works multiple traditional techniques
from oil on canvas to classical sculpture,
up
to the most innovative contamination of mixed techniques in a
provocative meeting of
acrylics,
oils and fluorescent colors but also silicone, acrylics and steel.
Also
involved in various philanthropic initiatives, Catania is carrying
out a
itinerant
artistic and socio-cultural project with a highly inclusive
connotation, born with the desire to bring places and people closer
together especially following a pandemic that has brought
interpersonal relationships to their knees, hitting the weakest first
of all.
The
"Project of the Hug" has in itself a simple but at the same
time strong, audacious message, capable of going beyond any
difference and geographical distance:
"Let's
hug each other again"
His
creative skills and his aesthetic taste enthusiastically embrace
technology and everything that looks to the future under the sign of
innovation. Particular attention deserves the "Catania
Technique", a mixed technique that involves the use of materials
such as silicone, acrylic and mineral pigments, giving both the
canvas and the sculptures a material effect of absolute visual
impact.
In
his works painting, sculpture and digital art
declined
in all its facets converse syntonically giving life to
extremely
original creations imbued with hyperrealism that make Catania an
experimental artist in continuous evolution, capable of being both
traditional and contemporary, fascinated not only by modern art,
architecture, cubism and the great masters of painting from the
classical, but also a profound admirer of that digital culture that
led him towards an eclectic artistic production with wide acclaim
from both Italian and foreign critics.
The
artist's passions and inclinations also include scientific
disciplines.
Graduated
in Civil Engineering at the Polytechnic of Milan, Catania expresses
his technical preparation
both
in his productions intended for the Metaverse and in his art
strongly
related to geometry and mathematics. This is the context in which the
creation of real digital works mounted as NFTs is inserted but always
inspired by the meanings of the more traditional art of Catania (i.e.
"Arlecchino nella terra dei Giganti (B version)", short
film from 2022).
Childhood
Cesare
Catania was born in Milan on 1 February 1979 where he spent most of
his life and it was in this city that he gradually demonstrated and
developed a strong aptitude for the graphic and pictorial arts. Since
childhood he unequivocally shows a predilection for the figurative
arts as well as a real passion for mathematics and music, two
disciplines so different from each other yet so close, in the eyes of
Catania that he will borrow from his violinist grandfather passion
for musical instruments. In fact, already at the age of 9 he began
taking piano lessons and during the following ten years of study he
will give more and more space to his admiration and on the one hand
for the rigor and on the other for the creativity of classical music.
The
Absence of Prejudice
In
mathematics and music Catania finds, during its artistic and cultural
training, the natural completion of its essence: it is at the same
time projected towards a disciplined but also multi-perspective way
of approaching life and it will be precisely this type of
multifaceted approach to make him grow interest and curiosity towards
aspects of everyday life, disciplines and sectors that are at least
apparently very different from each other. This absence of prejudice
is fully observed in the artistic production of Catania,
characterized by a profound ability to grasp and transmit the essence
of the painted object and always well represented in detail, now with
highly realistic accents, as in the paintings "Metaphysical
Composition ” – 2016, “Artistic Composition” – 2016, “The
Dynamics of Movement” – 2016, now with abstract and symbolic
accents as in the works “Vanità” – 2014, “Flamingos in the
mirror” – 2015 – “Strappo” – 2012.
The
first pictorial works of Catania in which we find his poetics
outlined date back to 1995, when the artist expresses his creativity
during the school hours dedicated to drawing, demonstrating a
particular aptitude for both perspective studies and informal -
abstract graphics.
The
love for Engineering
In
1998 Catania enrolled in the Faculty of Engineering at the Milan
Polytechnic where he perfected his studies in perspective and
axonometry, learning to observe both problems and the reality that
surrounds him by breaking down all the figures into simple
three-dimensional polygons. His ability to decompose and model solids
can be found in his paintings and sculptures, capable of expressing
realities and feelings both through superimposed two-dimensional
planes (see the paintings “144: Terzetto Jazz” – 2014, “Nizza
(homage to Matisse and Chagall)” – 2015) as much as with the
elegant and harmonious juxtaposition of solid and curvilinear figures
(as for example in the painting “Letture Estive (homage to
Pierluigi Nervi)” – 2016); think also of the sculptures "The
Heart of the Earth" (B and C Version) and of the entire series
of geometric sculptures belonging to the "Feelings and Emotions"
collection (2022).
Surely
also the digital art of Catania is influenced by his love for physics
and geometry. His digital artworks are a perfect combination of
rotating solids that sometimes give life to actual cinematic shorts.
Art,
Science, Mathematics, Photography: many passions, a single artist
In
addition to a marked aptitude for technical and artistic sciences,
Cesare Catania matured over the years a particular passion for
photography, letting himself be fascinated by the colours, the lights
and the ability of the camera to immortalize in one shot all the
strength and dynamism of moving scenes. The same attraction of
Catania for dynamism and moving bodies can be easily observed in
several of his paintings, both in the formal ones and in the informal
and abstract ones. In "La Violinista di Barcellona - B Version"
- 2016, the author portrays the protagonist just like in a
photographic shot in which the orchestra and the background disappear
to give way to an eccentric and moving musician immortalized in a
still image strong and intense.
Mathematics
and engineering studies together with the passion for art in general
allow the artist to create works in which sculpture and painting are
perfectly harmonized. Furthermore, in his paintings, tradition
coexists (use of materials such as plaster, wood, stone, oil paint)
and innovation (use of silicone and acrylic-based materials) in a
creative act that gives life to three-dimensional works which "come
out literally from the canvas”.
The
technique of an adult and the imagination of a child...
Cesare
Catania often prepares his canvases starting from previous projects
that he himself carries out with real static studies, so as to make
materials that are often fragile and difficult to manipulate as in
the case of plaster adhere to the canvas in a complete and lasting
way. In many of the paintings in Catania, the latter is armed with
nails and nets to follow the pattern of the drawing, highlighting the
artist's ability to blend together creative impetus and rational
spirit, to the point of breaking down the figures in the painting. In
the "Lisbon Zoo" the author portrays, in a vision of
superimposed planes, animals such as the elephant, the giraffe and
the bull. The latter made of plaster and painted with strong acrylic
colors, fill the scene on three superimposed floors and in a dynamic
way. Cesare Catania's paintings are a "still image" of
actions and feelings, an extreme synthesis between hermeticism and
attention to detail.
Among
the other techniques used, we recall, as already mentioned, the
"Catania Technique", through which the artist mixes
silicone, water-based acrylic and mineral pigments. All to give life
to paintings that literally come out of the canvas and sculptures
that come out of space.
In
addition to the aforementioned means of expression, the author never
abandons his passion for traditional techniques such as oil and
acrylic on canvas, using them both to create hyper-realistic works
("Harlequin in the Land of the Giants"), and for works of
cubist informal art (“L'Abbraccio”, “Gli Arlecchini”, “Trois
Hommes”). In his journey, techniques often mix together and oil
blends with acrylic and resins to give life to works of art that
transcend the traditionality of expressive means to give space to the
imagination and sensitivity ( "Self-Portrait"). In this
Cesare Catania proves to be absolutely consistent with his principle
according to which the artist must produce unique works of art using
the technique of an adult and the imagination of a child.
A
"Catania" in continuous evolution
In
his artistic career the artist approaches different artistic currents
and, despite his clear and mature stability of thought, still
continues to experiment as if he were "a little boy".
His
first works of art as a professional are inspired by reflections on
his own self and his essence as a human being. In this phase, the
works of art that are born are works of art that are somewhat similar
to abstract and conceptual art. (2012 - 2014)
Over
the years the artist begins to turn his attention to the outside
world, making the events that surround him flow through emotions and
inspirations that give light to informal and cubist works of art
(2015 - 2018).
In
recent years, Cesare Catania has turned his attention once again to
the study of his own emotions, returning if we will to the Catania of
the early years, this time however with a much higher awareness and
maturity (2020 - 2022). In the same period his ability for digital
art matures, giving life to works of art that draw their inspiration
from themes already addressed in his traditional art but which
express sensations and concepts in an amplified way through
technology and visual animations. In this his digital art approaches
"Video Art" and "Kinetic Art", influenced in the
production of his digital works also by the passion for photography
and cinematography.
Fascinated
by modern art, architecture, cubism and the Masters of the Classical
Age, Cesare Catania is a constantly evolving artist, always looking
for new techniques to best express his thoughts, feelings and general
his inner world.