Giuseppe (Pippo) Altomare

(Italy)

I am as interested in the line and the many forms it takes as I am in colour in all its various combinations, from strong determined colours to pastels.

I imagine my pictorial surface as a stage on which unusual elements take shape and develop, transforming and renewing themselves, often trapped, sometimes inverted, and eventually deconstructed in an archaic dimension that is both “Dionysian” and “Orphic”.

The signs and lines that I combine on the picture plane allude to a multiplicity of visions; the dilating colours create the illusion of volume. I have often found myself (especially from the late 1980s onwards) tracing out virtual geometries in which solids and voids contrast. In some cases the centrality of the subject is neutralized and the underlying force-line passes from a delicate and sentimental lyricism to a sinuous and flowing movement, with the rhythm finally becoming heavier and more staccato. So I combine a precise and solid linear composition with the invasion of colour and its power to stir emotions.

I believe I belong to the Italian tradition (which first emerged immediately after the Second World War) known as the “abstract neo-avant-garde” the earliest exponents of which were Capogrossi, Turcato, Consagra, Sanfilippo and Accardi, along with many others, and which in the 1980s and 1990s was labeled “aniconic”. I am constantly looking for a new compositional equilibrium with infinite possible variations – of which the sign/line is the central focus, a sign/line that both is and isn’t analytical but which in both cases transforms and renews itself, and at the same time suggests energy and tension.

 

Profile
Painter and educator with five decades of professional activity across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Trained at the State Art Institute and the Academy of Fine Arts, Catania. Early exposure to US contemporary trends informed a practice that blends abstract, natural and fantastical imagery with experimental sculpture and performance. Extensive exhibition record, public and private collections, and long experience in teaching and curatorial collaboration.

Education and Early Experience

  • State Art Institute — secondary art studies.
  • Academy of Fine Arts, Catania — advanced studies in fine arts.
  • Restoration practice (4 years) with Angelo Cristaudo: projects at Palazzo Abatellis and Palazzo dei Normanni, Palermo.

Teaching and Academic Roles

  • Visiting and teaching roles at Academies of Fine Arts in Carrara, Florence, Lecce, Rome, Sassari.
  • 2013–present: Professor of Decoration, Academy of Fine Arts, Catania.
  • Guest lecturer series in China (Sichuan Normal University, Sichuan University of Science & Engineering) in 2016, 2018, 2019.
  • Contributor to study day and publication on contemporary decoration at Brera Academy, Milan.

Selected Exhibitions and Projects

  • Solo and group exhibitions across Italy and internationally since the late 1980s, including Palazzo delle Esposizioni (Rome), Radici Dal Sud (Francavilla al Mare), MACTE (Termoli), MACRO (Rome, Atelier Project live painting), and numerous solo shows in Serbia, Italy, Taiwan, Georgia and elsewhere.
  • Live painting and site-specific works: panel (124 × 400 cm) for Church of San Martino, Asti; live canvas at Piovera Castle concert; week-long live painting at MACRO, Rome.
  • Curated projects and collaborations: exhibitions in public spaces in Rome curated by Achille Bonito Oliva; artistic director of residencies in Piedmont, Sicily, Romania.
  • Recent activity: exhibitions and residencies 2022–2025 in Italy, Switzerland, Slovenia, Austria, Hungary, Turkey, Georgia, Serbia, Poland, and Taiwan; 1st Prize Hajdúsági Nemzetközi Művésztelep Káplár Miklós-Díj (Hungary).

Collections and Commissions

Works held by museums, public collections and institutions including: MACTE Museum of Contemporary Art Termoli; MAAM Metropoliz Rome; University of Siena School of Specialization in Historic and Artistic Heritage; MARTE Museum; MAON Rende; Piovera Castle; Bjerringbro Idraæts- & Kulturcenter; Valamar Hotels; Paradores (Spain). Commissions and live works for private collections and cultural venues.

Publications, Catalogues and Media

  • Monograph inclusion: The Art in Monograph. Italian Painters. Pippo Altomare, Black Wolf Edition, Scotland, 2017.
  • Cover art for essays, novels and magazines including works by Enzo Santese and Francesco Paolo Pinello; cover art for Amicando Semper and Italia Imballaggio (2020).
  • Works featured in television commercial for Mito beverage.
  • Numerous catalogue essays and reviews by critics and scholars such as Luciano Caramel, Sandra Orienti, Massimo Bignardi, Enrico Crispolti, Giorgio Di Genova, Teresa Macrì and many others.

Selected Collaborations and Projects

  • Collaborations with galleries, publishers and cultural enterprises: New Benches Art Gallery (Rome); Telecampione S.p.A.; Arte y Naturaleza (Madrid); Progetti Italiani (London).
  • Curatorial and exhibition support roles; organization of public exhibitions in Rome.

Awards and Recognitions

  • Purchase by Galleria Civica (now MACTE) following XXXIV National Exhibition of Contemporary Art.
  • 1st Prize Hajdúsági Nemzetközi Művésztelep Káplár Miklós-Díj (Hungary).
  • Invitations and residencies internationally, institutional exhibitions and monographic publications.

Selected Solo Exhibitions and Residencies

  • Radici Dal Sud, Francavilla al Mare (solo room) — 1989.
  • Solo exhibitions and residencies in Perugia, Sombor, Novi Sad, Paraćin, Velika Plana, Gangi, Tainan, Ozurgeti, Sarsina and multiple Italian venues (2019–2025).

Professional Skills

  • Media: oil, acrylic, mixed media, works on paper, sculpture, live painting.
  • Practice: site-specific commissions, exhibition design, restoration experience, teaching and curriculum development.
  • Project roles: artist, curator collaborator, residency director, lecturer.

Languages

  • Italian;
  • working knowledge of English.