Francesca C., the feminine art that talks to women (and not only!)
Francesca Cannatella, aka Francesca C., is a Palermo-based artist. Born in 1986, she studied at the Eustachio Catalano Art High School and later at the Academy of Fine Arts. Over the years, she has participated in various group and solo exhibitions in museums, exhibition spaces, Italian galleries, and more. Her resume includes showcases at the Michelangelo Hall in Rome and the White Space Chelsea gallery in New York. This is a story of rebirth, a message of hope for all. Let us flourish, with our strengths and weaknesses. Sicilian Secrets interviewed her.
Q: From attending art school in Palermo to a career that took you exhibit your works around the world: how did you realize that painting would become your job?
A: Painting was never really a possibility, not a job. I wanted to study fashion management or fashion design. When I realized that I wouldn’t be successful or even held back by my insecurity, I tried other paths like children’s illustration – it was the subject of my thesis – and graphic design. After graduation, I went through a period of closure and even a sort of depression, and I started to release what I had inside by starting to paint. And from there, after the first exhibitions, I never stopped.
Q: Francesca C.’s art talks about the feminine world, narrating it in all its facets. What led to this choice?
A: The answer is very simple: by ‘throwing’ onto canvas what I had inside, automatically I ended up on the canvases with my experiences, my good and bad emotions, and in fact, I am a woman. A woman who, from adolescence to today, has gone through all those stages or experiences that then concern all of us (or almost all).
Q: What messages do you want to convey through your artworks?
A: I didn’t start wanting to convey messages. I started for myself, as therapy, also unintentionally communicating who I am. Over time, I realized that this was even a tool to interact, in my own way, with others. I paint and try to sensitize people to what I know and therefore what I have experienced, overcome, trying to give strength or conveying the message that each of us is okay as we are, that we must accept everything about ourselves, lights and shadows, and that it is not wrong to show ourselves weak. Truth be told, through my paintings, I have also asked for help and I am not ashamed of it.
Q: Art expert Gianfranco Badami stated that your artworks “are recognizable at first glance”, a sign of a unique and personal style. But in your heart, who are the models that inspire you?
A: Not having a career as a painter in my plans, I never felt that I had to find my own style. Surely I had some favorite artists that I studied in high school or looked for in museums or exhibitions. My style is influenced by decoration, illustration, and above all by my feelings. I believe that the lines come from how I feel while painting. When I draw my ‘soft lines’, I feel a sense of physical and therefore psychological relaxation, especially on large surfaces.
Q: Francesca C: from Palermo, hence Sicilian. How does your land influence your work?
A: I love my city for many reasons and I believe it has also become a comfort zone, but I recognize that in many ways it is still a land in evolution especially socially. In the past, I felt that it was characterized by a mentality that was too closed for me, so it was difficult to totally express myself…especially because I cared a lot about the judgment of others. Now I almost don’t care anymore, I think less about everything else and more about myself, about what I like to do. And I’m working on giving myself freedom, without being tied to what others think of me. Speaking of messages, I believe this is one of those I would like to convey, starting from the fact that I am the last person who can judge.
Q: Is there a place on our beautiful island that you consider a creative refuge, perhaps for painting or even just to think about your next artworks?
A: I wouldn’t want to sound banal, but I’m a person who needs to process what happens to me in solitude, in a place that I feel like home. My creative refuge is my atelier, alone. Sometimes I think or imagine my artworks even while I’m out with friends, while I’m in the office. It can happen anywhere and sometimes, if I have the opportunity, I sketch on some paper that I find, so as not to forget the moment.
Q: To date, what is the professional milestone you are most proud of?
A: Maybe I never imagined doing a solo exhibition, and so far I did three exhibitions instead. I believe that the last one, ‘Francesca è’, at the Artètika gallery in Palermo, by Esmeralda Magistrelli who has believed in me, is the one I am most proud of because it was not for the audience but for me. For several reasons, because I always felt sidelined or I sidelined myself for others, and so it was a way of saying ‘I will always be there for you but me first’. One thing I am proud of is that with my paintings, I especially reach the non-expert public. I am able to move them even without them knowing the meaning.
Q: And for the future, finally, what are the projects you have already scheduled?
A: For the future, I don’t have plans and I’m trying to take it step by step. Surely, to try to carry on my work with all my emotions and, why not, to organize another exhibition showing that there is still much that I can communicate.
Q: Finally, let’s open the box of dreams of Francesca C. What is one of your professional desires?
A: My professional desire would be to wake up in the morning and live off my art completely and in serenity.
