Antonietta Mazzamuto, the ‘bold stroke’ of a Palermitan urban sketcher
Born in Palermo, Antonietta Mazzamuto graduated in Art History with a thesis on sculptor Mario Rutelli and went on to specialize in the restoration of old paintings on canvas, wood, and metal. At the same time, she pursued painting, initially experimenting with abstract art. Since 2015, the artist has been part of the Urban Sketchers movement, a global network of urban sketch enthusiasts and practitioners inspired by Gabriel Campanario, illustrator and journalist for the Seattle Times. Urban Sketchers draw and paint realistic depictions of beautiful urban landscapes in travel sketchbooks, transforming each into a unique artwork. Sicilian Secrets interviewed her.
Q: How did your artistic journey begin?
A: I started as an amateur, drawing since I was a young girl…then, when I was 15, my parents arranged for me to take private lessons with a teacher from the art high school. I studied pencil drawing with her for two years. Meanwhile, I finished my studies and briefly enrolled at the Palermo Academy of Fine Arts. However, I was also enrolled in a program in Literature with a focus on art history, and I couldn’t keep up with both. So, I received my degree in Art History with Professor Maurizio Calvesi, focusing on Mario Rutelli. Right afterward, I worked in the studio of a renowned Palermitan restorer, where I learned all there was to know about restoring paintings on canvas, wood, and metal. I began painting seriously a bit later, after working two years at Franca Prati’s gallery.
Q: When did you begin showcasing your artworks to the public?
A: My first exhibition was at Isola di Marè, a small restaurant in the city center. Then came a significant milestone: in 2004, I exhibited at Palermo’s Botanical Garden, focusing on mythological trees. In 2008, I presented a surrealist exhibition in Modica’s Palazzo della Cultura, themed around the Odyssey, where Ulysses was symbolized by a paper boat. Another show followed in Cave, near Rome, in 2009. After that, I shifted to group exhibitions, including international ones, until recently, with a solo exhibition titled “Non ti ho mai amato” at Artètika.
Q: Antonietta Mazzamuto, you’re an Urban Sketcher: what does that mean to you?
A: The Urban Sketchers movement was launched in 2007 by Gabriel Campanario, who in 2009 turned it into a nonprofit organization. Anyone with drawing skills can join, but the only rule is to draw from real life, not photos. The movement’s motto is: ‘See the world one drawing at a time’. I joined the Palermo group in 2015. Our group, now quite large, is called Sketchcrawl Palermo and is coordinated by architect Anna Cottone. With them, I’ve discovered parts of my city I never knew…
A: Palermo is a coastal city, surrounded by mountains, and faces many challenges…all of this appears in my works, whether on canvas or paper, in acrylic, watercolor, or graphite.
A: Social issues resonate strongly with me, such as femicide, but nature remains my favorite subject.
Q: Is there any special place in Sicily where you find creative inspiration?
A: My fondest memories are tied to my maternal grandfather’s large house in the Trapani area, which was sold last year…a great loss.
Q: In a recent show at Artètika, critic Massimiliano Reggiani remarked: “The most fascinating aspect of Antonietta Mazzamuto’s exhibition is her deliberate use of a late-Romantic style, reminiscent of travel notebooks kept by aristocrats and scholars from the 1700s, who meticulously recorded the wonders of ancient civilizations and the forces of nature”. Could you elaborate?
A: Eighteenth-century notebooks, called carnets de voyage, were used to observe, annotate with notes, and preserve memories of visited places. Goethe kept a famous one, though I don’t consider him an exceptional artist; Delacroix, on the other hand, created splendid ones, particularly his Moroccan series. One of today’s best-known carnet artists is Stefano Faravelli, with whom I had the pleasure of doing a workshop at Palermo’s Botanical Garden a few years ago.
Q: What are the primary subjects of your work, and what do you aim to communicate through them?
A: My favorite subjects are ruins, fitting for an urban sketcher. But I also focus on social issues, like violence against women and war, a topic I recently explored.
Q: What message do you hope to leave through your art, in three words?
A: I’d like people ‘to wake up’, especially the youth who are mesmerized by their phones and social media.
Q: Lastly, what is the career achievement you’re most proud of, and what are your plans for the future (or even a dream)?
A: The Botanical Garden exhibition was the one that brought me the most satisfaction and visibility. Currently, I have no exhibitions scheduled, but I hope to explore a theme close to my heart: the passage of time and the fading of old memories. I would love to gain more recognition, even internationally…though that feels like an impossible dream!
