Antonello Arena - JOKER

Antonello Arena, Messina, 1955, at a very young age attended his maternal aunt's art workshop, the painter Maria Baronello, where he learned the art of painting, initially as a student and later as a collaborator, creating painted fabrics of notable value for Sicilian noble families. The partnership lasted until he was 19, when, after graduating, he opened his own studio and began exploring other forms of artistic expression. Moving away from classical figuration, he showcased his new research in 1986 in 'Two Artists in Comparison' and shortly after in 'Fragments,' with a catalog curated by the provincial administration and edited by Luigi Ferlazzo Natoli. Another key milestone in his artistic career was in 1988, with the exhibition 'Inks on Paper' curated by Tommaso Trini, Lucio Barbera, and Teresa Pugliatti. The new 'informal' figuration reached various Italian and international cities through gallery and art fair exhibitions. From 1990 to 1999, Arena's artistic activity developed in a multifaceted and multimedia manner, ranging from short films, some of which received awards internationally, to designing trendy venues; his painting also underwent a transformation, incorporating romantic motifs into the existing informal style. This 'romantic informal,' as some critics called it, was exhibited in 1999 in Milan and Venice at the 'Spazio Eleusys' with the show 'Paths of the Soul,' curated by Lucio Barbera and Martina Cavallarin. In 2000, he was invited to the Milan Triennale with the video 'Signs of Time,' and Sony sponsored the catalog and multimedia exhibition 'Signs of Time,' curated by Tiziana Ferrari at the Mudima Foundation in Milan, with texts by Lucio Barbera and Martina Corgnati. From 2001 to 2002, he collaborated with the gallery 'Franco Cancelliere Artecontemporanea,' participating in numerous group and solo exhibitions during this period, such as 'Portraits from Collection,' 'The Match,' and 'Fabulous '60s.' From 2009, he collaborated with journalist and director of Tempo Economico, Milo Goj, leading to a series of highly prestigious exhibitions and events, including MIP in Milan, Spazio via della Spiga in Milan, the Palo Alto School in Milan, and Le Capannelle in Rome. Between 2012 and 2014, he experienced working with resins, both flat and three-dimensional, illuminated and luminous. In 2015, he returned to painting with the series 'Metropolis,' large canvases (New Figurative Informal) mostly depicting American cities. His latest works, 'UNIQUE SERIES,' were exhibited by Giorgio Grasso in Venice at the exhibitions 'Charter - the state of art at the time of the 57th Venice Biennale' at the Magazzini del Sale and at Palazzo Zenobio, the official pavilion of Armenia at the 57th Venice Biennale. His sculptures are located in Salina, Castell’Umberto, and Milan. Since 2020, partly due to the pandemic, he has resumed digital images, which he publishes as NFTs on various global marketplaces. He has taught Painting and Decoration at the Academies of Messina, Patti, Rome, and Capo d’Orlando.
Joker is hand-painted in acrylic on stretched canvas, directly from the artist. The painting will be shipped in a wooden box.