Bivaga (1972) - Il Volto del Ritorno

Il Volto del Ritorno captures a moment suspended between departure and arrival. The young woman turns away from the viewer, her profile illuminated by a controlled, intimate light that carves form from shadow. The red scarf, drawn tightly through her hair, acts as both accent and anchor — a quiet symbol of memory, resolve, and emotional continuity.

The composition is deliberately restrained. Her posture suggests alertness rather than retreat, as though she is listening to something just beyond the frame. The dark garment absorbs light, allowing the skin, the scarf, and the subtle movement of the hands to carry the emotional weight of the image.

This is a portrait concerned not with identity as appearance, but with identity as experience. The painting speaks of inner return — to oneself, to memory, to presence — rendered through a timeless language of chiaroscuro and measured realism.

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About the artist:
Agatino Bivona, known artistically as Bivaga, was born in Biancavilla, Sicily, in 1972 and currently lives and works in Adrano. A pupil and close confidant of master Antonio Sciacca, Bivaga began his artistic journey at a young age and has spent over three decades refining his unmistakable visual language. His hyperrealistic portraits, rich in symbolism and emotional nuance, have been featured in major exhibitions in Italy and abroad. Celebrated in critical publications such as I Grandi Maestri (2009), and reviewed by prominent art critics like Nicola Villari and Alfredo Pasolino, Bivaga’s works are held in private collections across Europe, the United States, and Japan — carrying fragments of Sicilian elegance far beyond its borders.

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