Born in 1960 to a Sicilian family living in Morocco and raised in France, Catalano became a sailor in his twenties. This nomadic lifestyle was a major inspiration for his work as an artist. The sculptures of Bruno Catalano, especially, Les Voyageurs show this influence. They delve into themes of travel, migration and journeying. Themes extend into exploring the ideas of home, belonging, loss and the experiences of a “world citizen”. Each statue carries a single suitcase, weighing them down, but also serving as their only means of support. Fascinating technically, artistically, and in its symbolism, the large omissions in the statues leave much to the imagination. Some figures appear to be fading away, while others materialize before our eyes. Contrary to the opinion that travel broadens and enriches, Catalano lamented that all his travels left him feeling that a part of [him] was gone and will never come back. ‘Fragments’ makes full use of this ethereal effect with three sculptures broken down to create one unit. The man looks fragile and delicately held together, losing more and more of himself till only his feet and bag remain.
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“life is made of so many partings welded together.
-charles dickens
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credits: Daily Art Magazine
So jealous. Catalano captures more emotion in one image than I could put into a thousand words. Loved this post, Beth!
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we all have our own way to express, he may be jealous of the power of your words
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Wow! A great share Beth 💕
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I was really taken by them
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This is so expressive. Thanks for sharing
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my pleasure
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💞
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Beautiful
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❤
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We had some trees cut down last year. It took some getting used to for a while, but we accepted the change. No problem.
I can’t imagine the feeling of losing your home and identify. Thousands do every day. A sculpture can express what words can’t.
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yes, you are so very right
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I had never seen nor heard of these, so thanks for showcasing his work. They are wonderful!
Best wishes, Pete.
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they were new to me as well, and I was fascinated by them
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Maravilloso post. Geniales esculturas que hacen pensar. Buen día.
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thank you
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I’ve always appreciated this sculpture. It really is impactful. Makes me think of my great grandparents and their journey from a ravaged Ireland.
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oh, yes –
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Bruno Catalano found an impressive way to express the disaster for refugees.
Thanks for sharing
The Fab Four of Cley
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
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absolutely
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What fabulous vision and creativity! Love these, Beth!
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I so do too!
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Thanks for this morning helping of creative think-stirring, Beth!
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it does make us really look closely and to think about it
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Excellent narrative , I too am intrigued by this sculpture!
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fascinating, isn’t it?
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It really is symbolic! Thank you 😊
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Another amazing learning for my day. Thank you for sharing, Beth. What beautiful symbolism! When I first saw them, they didn’t seem real. 💛
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I so agree and it was my pleasure to share his work
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💛
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Thank you for sharing the man behind the sculptures. I’ve seen them a few times and am moved each time. Such beautiful work.
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they were new to me and I felt the same
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I’ve never seen them “live”! That must be breathtaking…
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Amazing work and oh, so true. There is more to the story as new pieces are formed in the new world.
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that’s exactly right
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Like the story and the quote
Sent from my iPhone
>
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thank you-
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That is a very powerful notion.
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So powerful
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Such a wild, brilliant, and profound piece of art. I love this!
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Agree with all of that!
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So fitting as I just finished reading an article on MPR about individuals who are of Native American and Scandinavian heritage and thus struggle to meld the two in their cultural identities.
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Very well done!
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Yes!
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New to me, and absolutely stunning!
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Me too and I feel the same
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I’ve known so many immigrants and only a few of them did not have that empty place. Most of them lived in the belief that their children would be complete and so the kids did not learn their parents’ first language. My piano teacher was a refugee from the Nazis, first to Italy, then Shanghai, then Omaha (???) When he introduced me to Mozart it was with the story of Mozart’s life as an unwilling immigrant. Then he played one of Mozart’s pieces with so much comprehension and yearning — obviously I never forgot it. “What did Germany look like Mr. Baer?”
“A lot like here. We had a river. It was very green with big trees.” What do you say to a 13 year old girl?
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so interesting, especially since you crossed paths when you were so young
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Very important person to me. What’s cool is my blog led a German historian to me. She was helping pull together a book about German Jewish refugees in Shanghai
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everything’s connected –
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Martha you have lead such a varied and interesting life! And what a ‘reply’ by your piano teacher…..
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agree –
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There is so much that we can see if we are willing to look deeper. Marvellous sculptures!
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so right –
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I remember that I saw this statue once (in a photo). It is impressive how he creates them and what they express. Thank you for the background information again.
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yes, and his work was new to me, but it drew me in
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It is outstanding in many ways!
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Partings are hard!
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are they ever –
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No!
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I think most can relate to the gorgeous sculptures, in one way or another. Loss, goodbyes, leaving things behind, or having them taken from you. Beautiful work.
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yes, on all counts. we can all identify with it in some way
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I have two DILs who emigrated to US in high school, one from El Salvador and the other from Poland. The Polish one has never been back and feels like US is not her homeland but neither is Poland now. A strange feeling for sure.
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yes, hard to be in the middle and not feel like you are in either
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That’s amazing, indeed. Excellent and educational post, Beth.
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❤
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I’ve always loved these sculptures. And yes, life is a series of partings but also beginnings…
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Always loved those sculptures! Life is departures and arrivals, a constant cycle of cycles I would say…
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I thought you’d know of his work and yes, you are right
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I knew his sculptures from photos and stories. But seeing and beholding them is quite another thing of utter beauty., mingling with sadness over the destinies leading to such art. I shall , later on, look this great artist up once more. Such a fascinating person.
I had similar feelings when I met, in various places, Moore’s sculptures. Just touching them in real was a humbling and marvellous experience.
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people don’t always realize how much emotion is attached to art
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I am quite moved by the sculptures and the story/thought behind them. I hope everyone who is lucky enough to see them feels the same way. Thank you, Beth.
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they are incredibly moving
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🙂
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I love this – it speaks to me! Thank you for sharing!
Blessings!
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my pleasure –
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How does the top part stay connected? Just by the suitcase attached to the leg, assuming it is? (A little hard to tell.)
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I had to stare at it for a long time
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coming back to this marvellous Moroccan artist….. on thieir website is this passage:
These sculptures particularly stand out from the other pieces displayed in the window. To most people, they are travelers, walking, unruffled, suitcase in hand, except that their bodies are in bits, open to the wind and light. Here, the torso has almost disappeared; there, the arm looks like it was blown off by a shell. As they are, they look like they’re coming back from far away, worn by centuries of erosion.
And yet, each retains his balance and coherence. There’s more; looking at them up close, these exiles, these wounded people are not anonymous. Their faces are those of famous artists, starting with Vincent Van Gogh, with a thick beard and emaciated features. Outside, passersby stop, astonished. They come closer but do not enter the gallery. Some stare into the window, commenting on these disturbing sculptures. Soon, it is groups of school students that, under the ferule of their teachers, come to discover these migrants with no purpose or country, allegories forever uprooted. Intuitively, they know they are in the presence of important work; one that, while retaining a figurative and classic base, shakes up the old conventions.
What winding paths must their creator have taken to achieve so meaningful an art?
Who is Bruno Catalano?
just reading (again) his site is a dreamlike experience. One never ceases to wonder where artists find their inspiration – here it’s written clearly: https://brunocatalano.com/?EN=1
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thank you so much for this, and I agree with you about the experience and how it feels to take it in
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