Piero Guccione

Piero Guccione, born in Scicli, Ragusa province, in 1935 and passed away in Modica in 2018, was one of the most important Italian painters, engravers, and illustrators of the 20th century. After leaving classical studies, he devoted himself to painting and drawing, attending the art school in Comiso and graduating from the Institute of Art in Catania in 1954. He later continued his training at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome. Guccione is best known for his painting cycles, especially the famous cycle dedicated to the sea, in which the line connecting sky and sea becomes a symbol of tranquility and reflection. His interpretation of marine views is conceptual and deeply personal, earning him the definition by art critic Vittorio Sgarbi as the greatest Italian painter of the last fifty years.
Throughout his career, Guccione exhibited in major Italian and international galleries, participating in the Venice Biennale during the 1970s and 1980s. In 1988, a personal room was dedicated to him in the Italian Pavilion of the Biennale, where the large painting 'L'ultimo mare' was displayed. Among his most significant works are the illustrations for Stendhal's 'The Red and the Black' (1963) and the series 'Città riflessa' and 'Attese di partire'. In the 1980s, he focused mainly on drawings and pastels, temporarily abandoning oil painting.
Guccione received numerous awards in Italy and abroad, and his studio-house in Modica became a reference point for other artists. Piero Guccione died in his studio-house on October 6, 2018, leaving behind a significant artistic legacy for contemporary Italian art.