Ninni Pagano (1969) - Sospiri di Saffron

Ninni Pagano was born in Catania. Always passionate about Wunderkammer and about everything nature offers in its beauty, this passion led him to study in the studio of master Antonio Sciacca, his teacher. It was 2011, and from that moment his artistic career began, propelling him to increasing prominence and earning the esteem of critics such as Aldo Albani, Roberta Filippi of the Orler Gallery, Philippe Daverio, and Daniele Radini Tedeschi. In 2016 his name appears in the prestigious American guide Guide Museums Galleries Artists. After taking part in two Triennials of contemporary art in Rome with his works published in Mondadori catalogs, in 2020 his name appears in the prestigious Atlas of Contemporary Art by De Agostini.
The work is an oil on canvas, signed and accompanied by a certificate of authenticity with the artist's logo, the artwork's characteristics, and the artist's signature at the bottom.
The colors of the painting may vary slightly from the photo due to camera and screen settings.
The artwork is carefully packed with bubble wrap and cardboard.

Saffron's Sighs
Interpreting a work by Ninni Pagano means immersing yourself in a world where the Baroque meets the psychedelic nightmare. Describing 'Sospiri di Saffron' means facing a narration that blends ancient alchemy with modern distortion.
The centerpiece of the work is the hypertrophy of the neck, a column of striated flesh that defies the laws of gravity and anatomy. Pagano does not seek classical beauty, but tension: the neck tendons look like strings of an instrument ready to snap. This deformity transforms the figure into a 'channel', a biological conduit for the substance it is consuming; the liquid in the decanter is not a simple drink—it's a fluid gold, a distillation of saffron that evokes healing powers or hallucinogens.
The radiant heat of the yellow liquid clashes violently with the cadaverous pallor of the skin and the impenetrable darkness of the background.
The protagonist's eyes are wide open, glassy, caught in a moment of forced ecstasy or perpetual astonishment. She does not look at the viewer, but fixes an invisible point in the darkness, suggesting that the "Saffron" is already taking effect, transporting her mind away from the deformed body we visually inhabit.
The ampoule is the symbol of alchemical science and the fragility of life.
In this work, Pagano seems to tell us that beauty is an elastic band stretched to the limit: a millimeter from snapping, it becomes art.
The beauty of the soul, however, is eternal.


Instagram:@ninnipagano