Sebastiano Catania tells of his Sicily between perfect geometry and creative restlessness
Between myth and scrap, Euclidean lines and every imaginable material, Sebastiano Catania continues to transform his inner unrest into art. Born in Palermo in 1949 and now based in Cefalù, after a lifetime devoted to teaching and experimenting with metal, stone, wood and iron, the Sicilian sculptor never stops questioning the present.
«Art must show the meaning of life; it cannot be an end in itself»
This is how Sebastiano Catania explains how the pandemic, global tensions and the emergence of the worst side of humanity have fueled a body of work that is both contemplation and denunciation.
In his recent exhibition Corpi, geometrie e oggetti (“Bodies, Geometries and Objects”) in Cefalù, classical myth, mathematical precision and metallic debris converge in an itinerary that invites viewers to «metabolize pain and positivity», revealing the power of a language capable of giving shape to chaos and restoring harmony.
Throughout his career he has presented his research in numerous solo and group shows, creating sculptures for private collectors, church institutions and public spaces. Sicilian Secrets interviewed him.
Q: Your artistic journey in recent years began with an inner state marked first by the pandemic and then by today’s complex historical context. How can suffering and disorientation be transformed into artistic material?
A: Art, in my opinion, has a duty to show the meaning of life. If it exists only for its own sake, it serves little purpose. It plays a fundamental role in my human and artistic experience. I use it both as an aesthetic medium and as a powerful tool of denunciation and provocation.
Today we face a deeply worrying international situation, with Heads of State and Government determined to destroy human rights and using unacceptable language. Yet my soul, always thirsty for dreams and beauty, rebels against this hatred and brutality; inevitably many of my works recount the events of these years. It may be a small thing, but I feel obliged to play my part, because I do not live on this earth as a stranger or a wandering dreamer.
Q: The recent exhibition “Bodies, Geometries and Objects” in Cefalù is an emotional and formal journey bearing your signature. What message did you want to convey to those who follow this visual path?
A: The sculptures and drawings in this exhibition express emotions, ideas, anxieties and feelings through a formal synthesis that is the fundamental key to stimulating the public’s sensitivity on social and ethical issues, so that they become values that expand and resonate, enriching both me and the viewer.
The visual message unfolds through signs, symbols and forms that lead to reflections not purely rational, encompassing hidden aspects that help me metabolize pain and positivity and help the observer better understand themselves and the world: a stream of impressions, sensations and insights that grows day by day.
Sculpture is a form of contemplation, a spirit that penetrates matter and discovers that it too has a soul. That is why I use so many different materials, not only the canonical ones. It sparks my imagination and allows me to give strength and vigor to the themes I am tackling. It also forces me to solve practical as well as compositional problems, using ever-changing techniques that lead to unexpected results.
Q: Classical mythology’s bodies, Euclidean geometry’s forms, metallic scrap: three different languages that coexist. Why these three expressive paths, and what connects them?
A: They may seem divergent only at first glance. In my imagination they are expressive modes that interpenetrate, offering different points of view on a single core: reflection on contemporaneity.
Myth, recontextualized, provides moral teachings with surprisingly current interpretations, a rediscovery that brings us to the present, where the consequences of our often-wrong choices are represented by the scrap. The binding element is the rigor of geometry, which exalts the harmony of forms and bodies and transfigures so-called debris, transforming it into a symbolism that transcends its original meaning.
Q: You have said you feel astonished at the emergence of “the worst part of humanity”. What, then, is the role of art in such a fraught time: witness, denunciation, consolation, or something more?
A: Artistic expression is the fruit of a free and independent mind. The artist possesses more sensitive antennas, allowing them to intercept and interpret the world they inhabit. Today we witness inhuman tragedies caused by the greed and thirst for power of a few—catastrophes of immense proportions for which humanity will one day have to answer before the tribunal of history.
The most sensitive minds have a duty to give voice and denounce these misdeeds. I too, in my small way, want to contribute through works of denunciation. Certainly I cannot console mothers who have lost children, children who will never again see their parents, or all those with stolen identities. But I cannot sit idly by and pretend to live in a free and democratic country detached from the global context. In essence, this is one of the messages the exhibition seeks to convey. It is up to the visitor to perceive and process it according to their own sensitivity and make good use of it.
Q: Sicily is not only a physical place but also a cultural horizon, a layering of stories and memories. How does this land enter your work and your artistic vision?
A: I have always been drawn to Arab-Norman art for its extraordinary synthesis of styles, the harmonious and skillful arrangement of spaces, and its rich cultural substratum. The Cathedral of Cefalù and the old Jewish quarter have influenced my way of shaping matter. I have grown in the shadow of the ingenious refinement and grandeur of these places, which inevitably emerge in my sculptures as I seek, through volumes, their harmonious spiritual connotations.
Q: Euclidean geometry is a radical and unusual choice for conveying an emotional state. What do those pure lines and perfect forms mean to you in a world that seems to be breaking apart?
A: The eye, on an aesthetic level, is captivated by the harmony that only the rigor of form can express, and that translates into mental harmony, calming the anxieties of a chaotic world on the brink of the abyss.
Q: In objects and metallic scrap there is the mark of consumption and destruction, but also the possibility of rebirth. When you transform them into art, what dialogue unfolds between you and the material?
A: The relationship between artist and material is fundamental and indissoluble, because it is through matter that ideas, emotions and concepts take shape. When the artist manipulates, assembles, explores and blends styles and techniques in a compositional vortex, he investigates the very nature of matter and its intangibility. He is an experimenter responding to the unstoppable impulses of his creative lifeblood: an alchemist who subjugates matter to his will, transforming it into a new version of reality that becomes both aesthetic and philosophical research.
Q: Looking back at your journey today, what is your greatest artistic urgency: to give form to pain, to create beauty, to leave a testimony, or simply to resist through art?
A: Pain, beauty and testimony are all part of my cultural baggage. The urgency of creation lies in the desire to draw on history, to question one’s own time, filtering and transforming lived experiences into images. It is an intrinsic need that drives me to find any means, material or support, and translate it into sculptures and drawings.
Q: After “Bodies, Geometries and Objects”, what future projects will bear the signature of Sebastiano Catania? And what are your hopes, artistically and personally, for the dialogue that art can continue to open with the public?
A: An artist – writer, painter or sculptor – lives through interaction with others and feeds on exchange. Woe to those who lock themselves in sterile, presumptuous isolation. The exhibition, just concluded, was a tremendous opportunity for growth as well as for dialogue and engagement with visitors.
I hope that, as the weeks pass, this experience ferments, especially on a subconscious level, like a rich and fruitful yeast. Encounters, sensations and surprises all contribute to my human and artistic growth. May they be like a fine maestrale wind giving a fresh acceleration to my life. I have far too little time to stand still!
