Maurizio Cattelan: the most famous contemporary Italian artist
The first time I saw a work by Maurizio Cattelan, I laughed.
Then I thought, “Wait … is he kidding me?”
And that’s really where the game begins.
Because Cattelan is like that: he throws you off guard, makes you laugh and then forces you to think.
Maurizio Cattelan is the best known contemporary Italian artist in the world, although many do not remember his name, but everyone knows at least one of his works:
– the Pope hit by a meteorite;
– the giant hand with a raised middle finger in front of the Milan Stock Exchange;
– the infamous solid gold toilet installed (and stolen) in England.
Provocative, ironic, irreverent.
Cattelan is the artist who explains nothing to you but forces you to ask questions. His works look like visual jokes, but hide deep reflections on death, power, religion, capitalism, art.
Who is Maurizio Cattelan
He did not attend an art academy
He does not have a textbook resume.
He is self-taught and perhaps that is what makes him so free to create without filters.
Lightness and abyss coexist in his works.
The first reaction is often laughter, but then comes that subtle thought that sticks with you, confuses you and makes you wonder, “But then … what am I really looking at?”
Cattelan makes fun of the art world, of critics, gallery owners, museums … and of you, the viewer, but he does it by involving you and making you part of the work.
For it is you, in the end, who must complete what he has only begun, or rather imagined. You, confronted with a work of his, must interpret it, give it meaning. Or multiple senses.
All of his works are simple and complicated at the same time, you love them or hate them, you understand them immediately and a moment later there seems to be other meanings to be found. Whoever looks at one of his works is immediately involved in a game of images and references that lead not to one point of view, but to a multiple variety of definitions. In this way, the viewer becomes an integral part of the artist’s creative process, helping to construct the meaning of the work.
Maurizio Cattelan’s most famous works
In Maurizio Cattelan’s works there is often a reference to death and tragedy, but in a grotesque context, and this has earned him the title of a goliardic artist and in many cases has provoked scandals and strong stances towards his works.
Here is a visual gallery to enter the irreverent world of this artist who escapes classification.
Cattelan, la Nona Ora
La Nona Ora (1999)
Pope John Paul II struck by a meteorite.
A surreal and iconic scene that went around the world.
L.O.V.E. (2010)
A monumental hand with the middle finger raised, in front of the Milan Stock Exchange.
A fierce and mocking criticism of the financial system.
America (2016)
An 18-karat solid gold bathroom, installed in the United Kingdom.
The ultimate symbol of luxury and irony.
Him (2001)
A sculpture depicting Hitler kneeling.
A disturbing and controversial work that questions our relationship with evil.
Comedian (2019)
A banana stuck to the wall with adhesive tape.
A conceptual gesture that caused a sensation and sold for $120,000.
The stages of Maurizio Cattelan’s career
Below are the key dates for understanding the trajectory of an elusive artist.
1960 – Born in Padua.
1980s – Begins working as a designer, self-taught, without academic training.
1990 – First major exhibition at Massimo De Carlo in Milan.
1996 – Exhibits at MoMA PS1 in New York.
1999 – Creates “La Nona Ora”: international boom.
2001 – Participates in the Venice Biennale.
2010 – Installs “L.O.V.E.” in Piazza Affari, Milan.
2011 – The Guggenheim in New York dedicates a major retrospective to him.
2016 – He presents “America,” the golden toilet.
2019 – “Comedian” goes viral at Art Basel Miami.
Today – He continues to exhibit, provoke, and be talked about all over the world.
Why Cattelan concerns us all
Cattelan is not just an artist, but a living provocation.
His works are questions in the form of images. They don’t give you answers, but they put you in front of a mirror.
Looking at his works, the first reaction is always a smile, which is then dampened by a thought that caresses the mind and remains there, floating and confusing ideas. You no longer understand whether the work you are looking at is a joke or showing you a fundamental truth about existence.
Maurizio Cattelan’s works make you laugh and then take you aback.
Perhaps that is the point: in art, as in life, not everything has to have an explanation. Sometimes a shock is enough.
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About me
In this blog, I don't explain the history of art — I tell the stories that art itself tells.