Soleado (Estate violenta) Print

Born in 1943 in Bruzzano Zeffirio (near Reggio Calabria), Pasquale Celona graduated in Biology in 1971. With a scientific studies background and a flair for painting, in 1975 he debuted at the IInd Rassegna Internazionale di Pittura in Milan, Castello Sforzesco. In 1976 he participated in several collective exhibitions, and unveiled his first solo show at the Galleria alla Fonte di Piano Arta Terme (near Udine). That same year, while he was about to inaugurate his solo show at the Hotel Roma in Tolmezzo, he experienced the earthquake in the Friuli region. He would transpose the memory of that devastating event in his canvases depicting the Earthquake in Gemona. The year 1976 ended with his solo show in Modena, at the art gallery Il Torchio. In 1978 he was bestowed the Leone d’oro Award by the Circolo della Stampa in Florence. In the following two decades he took part in various International exhibitions and presented his works in the solo shows that were held in Prato, at the Galleria la Spirale (1980) and Galleria il Pergamo (1981); in Milan, at the Galleria Artespiga (1983); and in Florence, at the Casa di Dante (1982). In 1992 his paintings were deisplayed at the Istitut Français de Culture. For the artist, the 1990s were years of intense creative production, which would enjoy great success in 1996, when he reached a wide audience of collectors and art lovers through the presentation of his works and monograph by Paolo Levi in a television programme. Aside from carrying out his own artistic research, Pasquale Celona committed himself to organising the Salone Italiano dell’Arte Contemporanea. In 1997, with his brother Piero, he founded the International Contemporary Art Biennial of Florence, or Florence Biennale, of which he is the president. On 27 April 2006 the Museu de Arte do Parlamento de São Paulo (Brazil) acquired a Still Life by Pasquale Celona after a resolution passed by the Ministerio da Cultura do Estado de São Paulo upon Emanuel von Lauestein Massarani’s initiative, approved by the Assembleia Legislativa do Estado de São Paulo. In more recent years Pasquale could dedicate himself more intensely to painting and exhibiting projects in prestigious venues. For instance, in October 2014 he exhibited at the Yacht Club de Monaco within the framework of an event dedicated to Italian culture. In 2015, in Pietrasanta, at the Centro Culturale Luigi Russo, Sala delle Grasce, he unveiled his solo exhibition ‘Paintings of Light’.