Antonio Catalano

Antonio Catalano was born in Potenza in 1950. After years of working in Italian experimental theatre, he founded the theatre company Casa degli alfieri, a research organisation in the field of the arts, based in the house-theatre of the same name in the heart of Monferrato, in the province of Asti.

In 1999, he embarked on his great interactive art project, Universi sensibili (Sensitive Universes), with the debut of the installation Armadi sensibili (Sensitive Wardrobes) at the Venice Biennale. Since then, the artist has abandoned any idea of performance, pursuing instead the search for artistic and festive encounters that involve visitors of all ages, with whom he seeks to provoke poetry, emotion and wonder.

Catalano creates new large installations and art projects (le Tane, le Cabine da mare, le Macchine sonore, le Lucciole batticuore, il Popolo dell'Autunno, i Musei sentimentali, i Velie, etc.) in co-production and collaboration with important national and international organisations. Through his artistic activity, the author also promotes his civil art project Io sono patrimonio dell'umanità (I am a world heritage site), naming all the children (and not only) he meets as “heritage” in order to reaffirm the value of life.

In addition to creating many sensitive universes around Europe, imaginary worlds made of poetry, celebration and wonder, Catalano writes, tells and sings stories, both loud and silent, haikus and nursery rhymes that he has collected in various publications together with his drawings. He also has his own “domestic” publishing house, Bibbia dei Semplici.