Painting is a joy ...Have fun!

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“Have fun!” This is Antonino’s only recommendation when navigating his website.

Aeolus

In an instant, life seems to be thwarted by a violent wind. A tornado that whirls everything around, from material goods to the depths of the soul and the hidden corners of thought. Like snow melting in the sun, certainties become liquid, but new horizons open up in the abyss of the storm. It is an overwhelming experience that, despite its turbulence, allows us to discover ways of living, existing and perceiving that previously seemed hidden in the silence of everyday life.

Red, yellow and green swirls with black and white details, on a beige background

Colorful swirls weaving into each other.

Aeolus

90x90cm. Mixed media on canvas

Aeolus

Detail of the painted side on the left

Aeolus

Detail of the painted side on the right

Say it with

your own words!

It is as if you are in a spiral of overwhelming feelings, in a moment full of meaning. You would like to express it in beautiful sentences, as quickly as possible, before the moment when everything seems clear disappears. But your mind gets lost in the basket of words that need to be washed, looking for the “right” words, the words that are already clean. In this state, you emit an unintelligible babble, a barely audible echo of the deep reflections trapped in your head. You realise that there are writers for these things and poets before them ... and the “painting” begins.

Simulation of a handwritten letter. Text in black with multicoloured shading on a yellow background

Simulation of a handwritten text by Antonino. Original drawing on paper.

Say it with your own words!

100x80cm. Mixed media on canvas

Say it with your own words!

Original text drawing

So wrote...

A PAINTED WRITING PROJECT

In search of beauty and deeper communication in visual representations of different forms of writing.

Participants are invited to simulate a handwritten text using the letters of the alphabet and other characters used in writing. They must make sure that the words do not have a complete meaning, i.e. that they have no semantic content. The order of the individual letters must be random and, if possible, must not represent comprehensible words graphically. Another requirement is that the movements of the joints remain as natural as possible when writing.

The work consists of the interaction between these writings and the painting. Antonino draws on, next to or over them and explores the lines, symbols and shapes that make them up. The whole is intended to lead to a broader communicative connection that goes beyond the boundaries of conventional language.

Painting of a simulated text and white drawings on an orange background

So wrote Augusta Sava

90x90cm. Mixed media on canvas

So wrote Michelle Schick

90x90cm. Mixed media on canvas

So wrote Delfio Plantemoli

90x90cm. Mixed media on canvas

Perspective view of the painting, with coloured border and 4.5 cm high

So wrote Augusta Sava

Detail 01

The handwritten text on paper, by Augusta Sava

So wrote Augusta Sava

Drawing of the original text

Painting of a simulated text and white drawings on a pink background

So wrote Michelle Schick

Detail 01

The handwritten text on paper, by Michelle Schick

So wrote Michelle Schick

Drawing of the original text

Painting of a simulated golden text with light yellow decorations, on a background in various shades of green

The handwritten text on paper, by Delfio Plantemoli

So wrote Delfio Plantemoli

Detail 01

So wrote Delfio Plantemoli

Drawing of the original text

Rebounds

Do not stand still. Move, hop, jump. This constant bouncing from one point to another creates an energy that prevents you from being swallowed up or absorbed by solid or muddy surfaces. Yes, it is true, one is forced to remain in constant motion, but this dynamism becomes the engine of life. In these bounces one finds the freedom to explore, to challenge inertia, giving a feeling of vibrancy that this constant movement can offer.

Spherical objects bouncing on swirling surfaces

Perspective view of the painting with 20 mm high border

Original drawing on paper, hand sketched

Rebounds

90x90cm. Mixed media on canvas

Rebounds

Detail 01

Rebounds

Original drawing on paper

Etna

A volcanic explosion is a frightening and destructive tumult, a cataclysm that shakes the earth to its roots. The pain of facing such a catastrophe is like an open wound, deep and pervasive. However, in the midst of that chaos, there is the certainty of rebirth. After the storm of lava and ash, the earth is transformed into a fertile forge. Life is regenerated with extraordinary strength, bringing with it the beauty of resilience and the energy of a new beginning.

Volcanic column in eruption, stylised. Orange, red and yellow, decorated in black and white on a pink background

Perspective view with coloured border, 20 mm high

Detail of the painting oriented to reflect light from the glossy surfaces

Etna

24x30cm. Mixed media on canvas

Etna

Detail 01

Etna

Detail 02

Scarecrow

at break time

On a hot summer day, the time for an unusual break arrives. Exactly at midday, in the now empty and dusty field after the harvest, the scarecrow decides it is time to stretch after long hours of immobility. In an act of extravagance, he abandons his fixed position and launches himself into an acrobatic walk on his hands. It is a fantastic spectacle: the scarecrow, used to peering into infinity without moving, now dances upside down, preferring to look at the world from another perspective as it lifts clouds of dust into the warm embrace of the sun.

Stylised figure of a scarecrow walking on its hands, with decorative motifs on a yellow background

Detail: scarecrow’s face, with tin hat, straw-yellow face and red shirt

Enlarged detail of the decorative design simulating dust, with black on a yellow background

Scarecrow at break time

50x140cm. Mixed media on canvas

Scarecrow at break time

Detail 01

Scarecrow at break time

Detail 02

Athletes

Here is the athletic gesture. An enchanting choreography between effort and elegance. The dance of a ritual involving mind and body.