Fabio Modica

Fabio Modica was born in Catania in 1978. Being an apprentice to the well-known Italian painters Alberto Abbate and Antonio Sciacca, he was soon inspired by the classical Renaissance, occasionally drawing on the Greek and Latin mythology. In his early years as a painter, human figures wrapped up in a Caravaggesque light were his major subject matter and oil paint his favourite medium. His versatile spirit led him to incorporate many different styles and mediums within his later works, including watercolours, acrylics and chalks. In 2002, Modica made the acquaintance of Antonio Santacroce, a distinguished expressionist Italian painter. This encounter marked a departure from the representational style towards a semi-abstracted way, in which a long-lasting feel for realism is overwhelmed by a strong drive for sheer lines and colors, without completely dying out. His 2007 trip to Mexico marked a further development in this direction, as it triggered a variety of sketches of Mexican villagers’ everyday life which he made on jute in a slightly abstracted manner.

Over time Modica has grown a passion for the nude art, which inspired a series of paintings in which representation blends with abstraction and a vivid and dramatic colour palette captures the eye of the viewer at once. His most celebrated artworks are close portraits and landscapes shaping an enigmatic mood or a piece of memory. They are made with multiple layers of acrylic paint and a combination of harsh block-style patterns and vibrant, thick spatula strokes.

His current participation to art events promoting the importance of recycling has paved the way for a cycle of works uniquely accomplished with materials destined to become trash. Modica has been performing amazing portraits out of multicolored nails, pins, plastic tools, wires and cables and for this unprecedented attempt he was awarded the third prize at an 2012 international competition called “STOP ALLO 048 degli oggetti”.

Submitted by Johnson Lowe Gallery