FRANCO CISTERNINO - Italy -

CONTACTS: info@francocisternino.it

Sweet

Green eyes

oil on canvas cm 100 x 100

As a Mom

Love

oil on canvas cm 100 x 100

Kiss kiss

Spite

oil on canvas 100 x 100 cm

oil on canvas cm 100 x 100

CURRICULUM

Main exhibitions and shows of the artist:
2003
(May), Art event “Certaldo in cornice”, (Florence);
(July), Art event “Premio Torvaianica” Cardinal Pizzardo Hall, (Pomezia);
(November), X International Painting Competition “Il Gioco nell’Arte” at Villa Ormond in Sanremo, (6th place).
2004
(February), International painting event “Metti una canzone in cornice” in conjunction with the Sanremo Festival at Villa Ormond, (Sanremo);
(April), group exhibition “Paesaggi d’Italia” Sala Foresi in Civitanova Marche, (MC);
(June), “Prima Marguttiana città di Nemi”, (ROME);
(June), group exhibition “Tra Realtà e Fantasia” as “GEMELLI IN ARTE”, (Foggia);
(July), “Marguttiana dei Palmensi” Marina Palmense, (Fermo);
(August), exhibition “GEMELLI IN ARTE” at Bottega d’Arte, (Sanremo);
(November), 4th Acca in…Arte trophy “Autunno a Roma” at the Hotel Four Point Sheraton Roma West.
2005
(February), 2nd international prize “La Scarpetta di Cenerentola” for illustrators of myths, fairy tales and stories for children, (Fermo);
(June), exhibition “GEMELLI IN ARTE” at the Municipal Library “Sala Manzù”, (Aprilia);
(December), PIACENZA ARTE 1st Contemporary Art Market Exhibition dedicated to artists “Stand as “GEMELLI IN ARTE”
2006
(January), 5th Acca in…Arte trophy “Autunno a Roma” at the Hotel Four Point Sheraton Roma West;
(September), Exhibition of “GEMELLI IN ARTE” at the “Bellini arte” gallery Cascina, (Pisa).
(November), TV broadcast “TRA FORMA E COLORE” aired on SKY channels (SAT8/SAT9) and on Lazio regional TV hosted by ANDREA DIPRE’ (Rome).
(December), Rembrandt award in Lecce.
2007
(February), TV broadcast “L’ITALIA DI DIPRE’” aired on SKY channels and on Emilia Romagna regional TV hosted by ANDREA DIPRE’.
(March), Stand “GEMELLI IN ARTE” at the Contemporary Art Fair “Vernice Art Fair” Forlì.
(October), International Art Exhibition “Roma 2007” at Basilica S. M. del Popolo Agostiniana Hall organized by “Galleria d’Arte CRISPI”.
(November), Group exhibition November 2007 from November 24 to December 12 at “Galleria d’Arte 18” in Bologna.
(December), Exhibition entitled “Tra realtà ed Illusione” by “GEMELLI IN ARTE” from 05/12/’07 to 04/01/’08 at “Banca Sella” in via Bertoloni, 9 (Parioli area) Rome.
(December), TV broadcast “L’Italia di Diprè” aired every Sunday from 12:00 to 13:00 on AB channel 920 and every evening from 22:00 to 23:00 on channel 814.
2008
(from January to June), TV broadcast “L’Italia di Diprè” aired every Sunday from 12:00 to 13:00 on AB channel 920.
(from January to June), some of our works become part of the artistic movement “METROPOLISMO” and presented by Andrea Diprè every evening on SKY channel 932 “Carpe Diem” from 23:00 to 24:00.
(January), in collaboration with “Galleria MONDARTE” of Anzola dell’Emilia (Modena) with works on permanent display and on TV sale on local TV.
(March), Exhibition in collaboration with Galleria d'arte Mondarte and the restaurant LA TABERNA di BACCO in via Serlio n.26/22 Bologna from Thursday March 12 for 2 months “GEMELLI IN ARTE”.
(April), Exhibition entitled “Tra realtà ed Illusione” by “GEMELLI IN ARTE” from 07/04/’08 to 28/04/’08 at “Banca Sella” in via dei Mille 9/11 Florence.
(October), “Gemellare” exhibition entitled “Tra illusione e Realtà” at BANCA SELLA in via Massarenti, 416 in BOLOGNA from 10/10/'08 to 14/11/'08
(November), Present at the Reggio Emilia Fair with the "MONDARTE" Gallery from 28/11/'08 to 01/12/'08 stand D28
(December), Present in a group exhibition at the "Contemporanea Galleria d’Arte" of Foggia in viale Michelangelo, 65 from 07/12/2008 to 31/12/2008
2009
(July /August), Present in various group exhibitions with the "Contemporanea Galleria d’Arte" in viale Michelangelo, 65 Foggia.

2010
(January), double solo exhibition of “Gemelli in Arte” at the “Contemporanea Galleria d’Arte” in viale Michelangelo, 65 Foggia
(April), exhibition from April 22 to May 8, 2010 at the REDSTAR CULTURE THEATRE in HANGZHOU, CHINA
(May), exhibition from May 10 to 25 at XIHU DISTRICT ZHUANGTAN CHUANGYI ROAD HANGZHOU, and LAODONG ROAD 102 in HANGZHOU, CHINA
(May), international exhibition from May 27 to 31 at Westlake Art Fair in HANGZHOU, CHINA
(June), exhibition from June 1 to 15 at the REDSTAR CULTURE THEATRE in HANGZHOU, CHINA
2011
(March), double solo exhibition of "GEMELLI IN ARTE", included in the tenth edition of the 'Vico Vitri Arte' festival, at the Torre degli Upezzinghi in Calcinaia (Pisa)
2012
(October), exhibition from 17/10 at the Art Gallery “Carrè d' artistes” (-66, rue St-Andrè-des-Arts ) Paris (France)
(December), group exhibition from December 29, 2012 to January 26, 2013 “Metropolismo, la fine dell'euforia” (PROGETTARTE3D Piazza San Pellegrino 1) Viterbo.
(December), exhibition from 08/12 to 16/12 "Gemelli in Arte" Piazza statuto 21 in Pietrasanta (Lucca)

2013
(January), the exhibition continues throughout the year at the Art Gallery “Carrè d' artistes” (-66, rue St-Andrè-des-Arts ) Paris (France)
(October/November), exhibition at the Art Fair “AAF Amsterdam” with “Galleria Palma Arte” stand C1+C2 from 31/10/2013 to 03/11/2013.
2014
(January), group exhibition “LEITMOTIV” at “Visiva” city of image in via Assisi, 117 _Rome_ from January 11 to 17; organized by “Orizzonte Contemporaneo”
(February), AAF Brussels from February 6 to 10, 2014 with “Galleria Palma Arte” stand E5
(April), AAF DE TIMMERFABRIEK MAASTRICHT from April 2 to 6, 2014 with “Galleria Palma Arte” stand 26

HIS BIOGRAPHY

Franco Cisternino was born in Foggia on July 21, 1969, together with his twin brother Carmine.
His preference for drawing and painting, which has accompanied him since childhood, led him to attend the State Institute of Art in Foggia and to obtain the title of Master of Art.
It was during his school years that, by studying and deepening various techniques such as oil, watercolor, and graphite, he increased his artistic abilities, which were already innate in him. From the very beginning, in fact, he won numerous competitions and live painting events by working hard.
In order not to burden the family finances, while studying, he began to work on commission, dedicating himself to demanding works such as engraved portraits and large-format oils.
In this way, he developed a protective character and a sensitive soul that, until not long ago, led him to create works representing landscapes and environments compromised by man.
After marrying a primary school teacher, for work reasons he moved with his family first to Turin and later to Aprilia (LT), being able to dedicate himself to painting only occasionally.
In 2002, encouraged by his twin brother Carmine, he resumed his old passion and began to show himself to the public with exhibitions, competitions, and events. Since then, he has never stopped, participating in international fairs and exhibiting in several French galleries.
He currently lives in Bientina (PI), immersed in the Tuscan hills, together with his wife and two daughters aged 15 and 9, who are great sources of artistic inspiration for him.

THE CRITIQUE

The golden age
It is said that art is suffering, that from this dramatic, if not tragic, state of mind, inspiration draws its lifeblood and substance. Pain shines through in the various artistic languages, sometimes with a healing function, sometimes for ostentation, or rather because nothing else is known in life. Every artist, to some extent, is a flayed Marsyas: superior sensitivity allows them to perceive more than others, and to sublimate, through their own creativity, inner or observed experiences.
However, it may happen that from difficult experiences, from harsh lessons, from conflicts to be resolved daily, one manages to find and pursue a happy ending, and to narrate and mediate it with one's own creative code.
In Franco Cisternino's artistic production, a personal poetics of the child emerges, an innocence reminiscent of Chaplin, with sparkling, fiery, and hopeful gazes.
Cisternino walks along the road of a childhood and adolescence never fully lived, but which, in some way, unites him with many adults, who often forget that golden age, that perception of reality that is totally different, enchanted, and timeless.
Cisternino's production is entirely dedicated to the universe of childhood, so it is not surprising that the landscapes he paints echo a fairytale tone, but at the same time reveal other realities, more critical reflections.
In Cisternino's paintings, the childlike figure, hyperrealistic and diaphanous, undoubtedly dominates everything, standing out against a mostly bare, minimalist, overwhelming background, which tends to make the composition tactilely two-dimensional, creating a highly intimate and deliberately playful relationship with the viewer. This two-dimensionality is also reinforced by the predominance of the orthogonality of the lines on which the figures are constructed, which tend to adhere to the pictorial surface, in line with all contemporary poetics.
The black and white used for the characters, so realistically illuminated, moves them to a different plane of reality (that of the adult?), as if to indicate that there is still an element in the process of being defined, like that involved in the process of growing up.
Cisternino's palette is unifying, with pastel tones, with an almost zenithal incidence of light, bathed in chromatic nuances and gentle, soft, and graceful shading.
The reassuring and carefree world of childhood, made visible by a masterful technique, is also pervaded by a speculative, intertextual, and extra-pictorial component. Cisternino often reproduces margins, a sort of abstract and theoretical frame obtained from the canvas left bare along its perimeter, which becomes both an integral part of the ideal world depicted in the images, since it invades the space, and of the concrete world, since the margin-frame is the canvas itself.
In some cases, there is a fictitious reproduction of the torn canvas that wants to show something else, telling two visions, two realities at the same time, ultimately realizing the temporal simultaneity of a before and after. The act of unveiling, suggested by the idealized and energetic action of tearing, underlines the remarkable importance of what had been, or would have been, hidden or dormant. Butterflies—recurring in Cisternino's works—also assume an extra-pictorial function, landing on the canvas as if from this world they become intruders in the world of pictorial representation. The same thing happens when the characters, playing tic-tac-toe or intent on drawing some sign, rest on a plane that is none other than the one that separates the pictorial universe from the real one.

curated by Marina Ciangoli

“Representing the world of adolescents makes me feel good, perhaps because in this way I relive the adolescence I never had, an important period in the healthy growth of a person and which unfortunately as adults we forget”

[Franco Cisternino]

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