The sea is more than just water, expanse, and horizon. It is memory, mystery, and a pulsating ecosystem demanding to be heard. And it is precisely to the call of this vast blue that Gaetano Barbarotto, an internationally renowned artist from Palermo, responds. He returns to Bagheria with a new, eagerly awaited retrospective exhibition: “Trilogy of the Sea.”
The exhibition, sponsored by the Municipal Administration, will open on May 9, 2026, at 6:30 PM, in the rooms of Villa Cattolica, home of the Guttuso Museum. This event marks the continuation of a fruitful dialogue between the artist and the town of Bagheria, begun with previous exhibitions dedicated to the wonders and fragilities of our marine ecosystem, on display in Aspra.
The inauguration will be attended by the Mayor of Bagheria, Filippo Maria Tripoli, the President of the City Council, Andrea Sciortino, and the Councilor for Culture and Deputy Mayor, Daniele Vella. Also in attendance will be: The Honorable Giampiero Cannella, Undersecretary of Culture, and Edmondo Tamajo, Councilor for Productive Activities of the Sicilian Region. Art critics and historians Professor Aldo Gerbino and Professor Tommaso Romano will guide the public through the paintings.
The exhibition draws inspiration from a quote by Eduardo De Filippo, explains the author: “‘The sea is making the sea.” This line provides the key to the exhibition: the sea as a living, effervescent entity, capable of generating life and, at the same time, a threatened ecosystem. In Barbarotto’s works, the deep blue of the canvases envelops the marine creatures, enhancing their shapes and hues in a blaze of yellow, fuchsia, and red corals that, like fireworks, explode in the darkness of the depths.
“Gaetano Barbarotto’s expressive register finds meaning in the aquatic dimension,” writes curator Aldo Gerbino. “In the Trilogy of the Sea, the interferences between painting and sculpture intersect in the vast basin of visual art, where the privilege of mediation is assigned to the nobility of the material.”
Gaetano Barbarotto, born in 1957, is an artist who has successfully blended artistic rigor—a graduate of the Fine Arts School of Palermo and trained in Guido Quadrio’s studio—with the open-mindedness he acquired during his years spent in the vibrant artistic environment of Brera in Milan. Alongside masters such as Migneco, Treccani, Togo, and Bardi, Barbarotto has refined a language that goes beyond narrative, but constantly seeks a balance between aesthetic beauty and ethical commitment.
After his experience in Milan, his return to Sicily marked a turning point: the desire to recount his homeland became a vital necessity. Today, his works are held in prestigious museums and collections—from the Basilica of Padre Kolbe in Milan to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Troina—testifying to a research that, starting with a focus on human wounds, has expanded to the drama of an increasingly vilified creation.
Event Details:
Exhibition: “Trilogy of the Sea” by Gaetano Barbarotto.
Location: Villa Cattolica – Guttuso Museum, Via Rammacca 9, Bagheria (PA).
Opening: May 9, 2026, at 6:30 PM.
Opening Period: May 9 to May 30, 2026 (open daily).