About the work of Mimmo Catania

The images of Mimmo Catania are extremely irritating, not only because of the objects of his works which raise the question whether they represent real situations, mental states or even (anxiety) fantasy. They are created by a strict composition of space and light. Layers of colour, superimposed, communicate and interact like in an abstract painting.

But the paintings are figurative. We find in them many references, some of them adapt quotations from the heritage of our common memory, others suggest dreamlike evocations. Human beings are represented in his paintings more absent than present. They seem exhausted as a result of eternally endured waiting; they are involuntarily witnesses but unable to act.

The rooms in Mimmo Catania’s paintings are anonymous, it’s unthinkable that one could ever feel home in them. They are real transit areas where people strand who don’t know any more where they came from and where they are directed to. Strange perspectives and distortions let common objects, despite their familiarity, appear all of a sudden to have a life of their own, even further, they seem to have taken over the control. The spaces are often depicted in a state of decomposition, they are retroceding, breaking to pieces, loosing solidity and stability as if they were becoming liquid. They are equipped with different sources of light which seem to correspond to different levels of reality.

The paintings tell of alienation in the most undisguised way, reassuming centuries and different stages of evolution in a sharp flash of synopsis. The work identifies weak spots in our history which are still prevailing in our social lives, but sometimes achieves to set free an utopian potential, cutting back layers of history, getting rid of all occurrences, evoking a sudden memory of what really counts.