About the artist

Igor Scalisi Palminteri was born in Palermo in 1973. Aged 20, he joined the Capuchin order, where he spent the following 7 years. A Master of Arts at the Academy of Fine Arts in Palermo, he has exhibited his works in several solo and collective exhibitions, in Italy and abroad. After his first shows he took his mother’s surname, as she passed away some years before. Sacredness and saints are a constant theme in his prodcution. A revised, distorted and sometimes ambiguous sense of sacrality is ubiquitous in his poetic. While depicting saints as simple human beings, he simultaneously rediscovers their icons, reprocessing them without undermining their sanctity and using them as a starting point for an investigation on human nature and its identity. He aninated several visual arts workshops for children and teenagers at risk of social exclusion, in cooperation with schools and social services (USSM). Since 2018 he almost exclusively dedicated himself to interventions in the streets, working in close dialogue with residents with the goal of disseminating a sense of community and care through art. His works’ worth goes well beyond aesthetics, as they become a heritage of the neighbourhoods where they are carried out. During this year, he created some of his most famous murals like THE HOLY DEATH, SAINT BENEDICT THE MOOR, HAIL SAINTE ROSALIA. In 2018 he also curated POSTCARDS FROM BALLARO’, a project entailing the creation of 5 walls painted by himself, co-curator Andrea Buglisi, Alessandro Bazan, Fulvio Di Piazza and Crazyone. The project had a strong resonance and a deep impact on the urban landscape. The documentary Perspective Ballarò, directed by Cuccia and Bellia, narrating the 5 artistic interventions in the neighbourhood revolving around the historical market, has been distributed by Netflix in 30 countries since 2022. In 2019 he created SANGU E LATTI on a wall in the Sperone neighbourhood in Palermo, thus starting a journey with the local stakeholders. In 2021 he was one of the co-creators of SPERONE167, with artist CHEKOS and Danilo Alongi from Afea Art & Rooms: the encounter between local residents, associations, schools and many professionals gave birth to a lasting creative alliance propelled by urban art. In 2022 the documentary The most useless seagull in the world by director Giuseppe Lanno is realeased. The film narrates his story, his interventions in areas at high risk of social exclusion, the places in his daily life, his studio. Since 2018 he has been cooperating with the architectural firm AM3 to design a new church in the diocese of Agrigento. The Immaculate Heart of Mary Church was consecrated in November 2022. Igor designed and created all sacred furnishings, liturgical ornaments and artwork.

Artworks