Antonino De Caro

Antonino De Caro (Caltagirone, 1997) grew up in the Sicilian inland, a place still den of centuries old culture. At the age of 19, he moved to the Netherlands, where he received his education at the HKU in Utrecht. His process as a student brought to the surface a body of work made of self-made symbols and autobiographical references. The long term exposure to the classical approach to art in Italy, can be seen in the attention to the craft and use of allegory and symbolism. The awareness of the cultural identity he carries on his shoulders plays an important role in the making of his works. The paradoxical juxtaposition of the materials of his hometown traditions, and images designed to challenge them, reflect the artist's provocative attitude towards the status quo. In art like in society. In a constant analysis of his own identity, De Caro allows the viewer to peek into his world, where surprisingly, we find a mirror.

In his ceramic hand series De Caro examines the cultural opponents of southern Italian expressiveness and the modest northern European tradition. When De Caro moved to the Netherlands, he became aware of the reception of his hand gestures. Although in Italy hand gestures are part of the language, in the Netherlands he became aware that this is related to his origins. De Caro became conscious of the way his interactions were perceived. He became interested in his mundane actions, which had previously seemed so ordinary.