Gallery and Exhibition Reviews: Raffaello Centro D'arte

Bruno Caruso

 Pan

Renzo Meschis

Da "La Figlia di Lot" Omaggio a Guttuso

(From "The Lot's Daughter" Homage to Guttuso)

Renato Guttuso, Title and Date Unknown 

(Guttuso is not a contemporary artist, but I have included this piece in reference to Meschis' work)

Antonio Navarra

Oil on Canvas, 2009

On an uneventful weeknight in Palermo, I went to visit the Raffaello Centro d'arte (Center for the arts). I love visiting galleries versus museums because you get to see art that is made by local artists for FREE! 


Like most things in Italy, the gallery world and exhibition procedure is different from what I am used to in America. The space was pretty small, nothing larger than a standard American living room. When I walked in there were some paintings hung on the walls, but most of the work was stacked in a corner. The gallery assistant apologized for the confusion and explained that they had just finished exhibiting in another location. As I explained in the Antonello Blandi exhibition review, due to a lack of space in the galleries themselves most exhibitions are held in cultural hotspots around the city.


Finding a gallery between shows is a special treat, because you get to experience the no frills side of the art world. After a quick introduction by the assistant I was left to my own devices to wander through the space.


The work that was hung on the wall was not labeled, there was no special precedence given to any one piece.* It felt like I had just entered an artists studio. The gallery assistant gave me free rein to touch and move the works stacked against the wall and answered every question I had without hesitation and without giving me a sales pitch. She also allowed me to take photographs for the blog. (My apologies, I know they are pretty low quality!) 


Ignoring the couple of prerequisite lithographs by Salvador Dalí and Fernando Botero that seem to exist in every gallery, I was able to focus on the work of Sicilian artists Bruno Caruso, Renato Guttuso, and Meschis, and as well as other Italians, such as Roman artist Navarra.**


Here are a few of their works, if you have any questions about a particular piece you can contact the gallery directly or just email me!

Notes:

* Due to the lack of labels near the work, and the fact that I was not entirely sure the gallery assistant actually worked for the gallery, the paintings featured lack some information. If you really want some information, just email me and I will try to get it for you! 

**Although I do love the work done by Dali and Botero, this blog is focused on featuring  contemporary local artists. Also, I say prerequisite, because in my experience most galleries that focus purely on sales rather than exhibiting their artists seem to have one or two lithographs by a well-known artist hanging around.