Cristiano Plicato was born in Camastra, Sicily. At the beginning of the sixties when he arrived in Milan, he brought with him colors, traditions, landscapes and stories that remain in the memory.
His father, for a while, sells ice cream in the square of Santa Maria del Suffragio, and tells him about two guys who had aroused his curiosity: a man dressed in white named Lucio Fontana and another, who became famous for his Merde d'artista, Piero Manzoni: artists he meets in his father's story. He will meet many others, in Desio, then in Rome, where he will go to finish his studies in painting and interior design in 1971. Some will be teachers, others interlocutors, others companions in life and art. He mentions Gino Fossati, Vittorio Viviani, Angelo Magni, Pierantonio Verga, Fosco Bertani, Paolo Monterisi, Gino Meloni, up to Luigi Veronesi. The meeting with Rafael Alberti, a fortuitous conversation with Pier Paolo Pasolini and, in 1968, the opportunity to exhibit in the group show in Alba Adriatica also integrate poetry and literature into his art. Carlo Scarpa in Venice, during the years of the occupation of the Biennale, buys two of his paintings. Then, his production continues at an intense pace, until, thanks to the critic Gino Sordini, in 1971/72, he inaugurates a personal exhibition in Milan, at the Galleria Ticino. On that occasion, Emilio Tadini expresses himself by recognizing Cristiano Plicato as “good proof of rigor, seriousness and certainty”.
In 1979, on the occasion of the 19th anniversary of the eruption of Vesuvius, he was invited to Pompeii, where he was given the golden keys to the city. In those years he held the Chair of Painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Agrigento. Over ninety exhibitions followed, until 2011, many trips, new meetings with artists, poets, friends.
He exhibits in museums and institutions in Italy, Spain, Germany, Belgium, France, England, South America, North America, Russia and in private and public collections including: the Archbishop's Palace, Milan; the Card. Giacomo Lercaro Collection, Bologna; the Art and Spirituality Collection, San Paolo VI Museum, Concesio (BS); the Aragua Art Museum, Venezuela; the Gibellina Museum (TP); the Marian Museum of Contemporary Art, Alessano (LE); the Castell Platja de Aro Art Fund Museum, the Jordi Comas Matamala Platja de Aro Foundation and the Calonge Museum, GI, Spain; the Drawing Museum, Salò (BS); the Permanente Museum, Milan; the Strand Gallery, London; the Salvador Dalì Museum,
Berlin; the Musee Site Oud Sin Jan, Bruges, Belgium; the Scalvini Museum, Desio (MB); the MAC - Museum of Contemporary Art, Lissone (MB); the Galleria Civica Ezio Mariani, Seregno (MB); etc. Since the 1980s he has collaborated with the Permanente in Milan, exhibiting his works and curating the exhibitions of other artists.
Another life teacher was the sculptor Giuseppe Scalvini, of whom Cristiano Plicato now curates the Scalvini Museum which has been welcomed by the City of Desio, in the beautiful Villa Tittoni.
In 2011 he was invited to the International Art Exhibition of the 54th Venice Biennale, Italian Pavilion curated by Vittorio Sgarbi.
For over thirty years, he has collaborated with Spanish gallery owners, dealers and collectors, including Juanjo Gallardo, JM Prat, Jordi Comas Matamala and Carmen Hospital.
Since September 2021, he has been exhibiting with MA-EC Gallery, Milan.
In the exhibition Frozen Time he exhibits in Milan with the artist Mengjie Huang with the installation curated by Li Yuan.
From 1st to 30th April 2022, Prof. Paolo Sabbatini curates and presents the solo exhibition Tunnel del Tempo, at the Italian Cultural Institute in Brussels. Some of his works are exhibited at the MA-EC Gallery stand at the WOPART fair in Lugano.
His extensive bibliography includes, among others, Flaminio Gualdoni, Alberto Veca, Rachele Ferrario Renata Ghiazza.
Fabiola M. Giancotti
