Elio Cassarà was born in Mazara del Vallo in 1974. The artist’s painting leans toward abstract art, attributable to the intense effects of lights and the expressiveness of color in his narration of landscapes. In his paintings we can see the evolutionary nature of painting, based on the careful observation of the environment which dissolves into a fantastic vision, full of suggestions and imaginative power. After training with some local artists, in 1997 Cassarà lived in Venice where he studied the masters of the twentieth century in greater depth and in particular his attention was captured by Giorgio Morandi’s still-lifes.
These were the years in which he devoted himself intensely to the study of painting; he was strongly influenced by the German romantic painter Caspar David Friedrich, the symbolism of Marx Klinger and Arnold Böcklin and the ideas of the radical Pre-Raphaelites. In 2001 he moved to Berlin where he lived for many years and hosted several personal exhibitions. The period spent in Germany and his admiration for Gerhard Richter influenced Cassarà’s work which became more abstract and expressive and it was at this stage that the landscape became the main subject of the artist’s work. In his paintings, he depicts vitality and relationship with nature using vibrant colors that energizes the entire surface of the canvas.
In 2007, he had a solo exhibition at Narodni Muzej Zajecar (Serbia) curated by Bora Dimitrjevic and Nina Pogarcic. On his return to Venice in 2014, Cassarà completed his series of paintings inspired by his long stay in Germany, which were exhibited the following years. He often visited Sicily to absorb the light and the colors to elaborate them in the paintings later. By the end of 2020, he moved to Moscow to study the Russian medieval art and to hold some important art exhibitions.
In 2021, his solo show at the Novgorod Centre for Contemporary Art, curated by Ezio Pagano, received wide institutional acclaim and was featured in prime time on the state TV channel Rossiya 1 (VGTRK).
In 2022, the Moscow Museum of Modern Art chose one of the paintings for its permanent collection following the solo exhibition “Il Colore Del Vento” at the Pushkin Public Library in Moscow.
Starting from 2016, Elio Cassarà is present at the permanent collection of MUSEUM – Osservatorio dell’arte in Sicilia, under the founding director Ezio Pagano.
In 2023, the Foundation Orestiadi – Museo delle Trame Mediterranee in Gibellina included two artworks in its permanent collection.
That same year, the Diaghilev Museum of Contemporary Art in St. Petersburg added a painting from his solo exhibition “Levkas” to the collection of the Museum.
Concurrently, CAMUSAC – Cassino Museum of Contemporary Art, chose a large-scale painting for its permanent collection.
In October 2025, his solo exhibition “Lightness is the Rhythm of Vanishing” was hosted in the historical halls of the State Institute for Art Studies (SIAS – ГИИ) in Moscow. This landmark exhibition was curated by the distinguished art historian and Director of the Institute, Dr. Natalia Sipovskaya.
Among many others who wrote about Cassarà are Tommaso Evangelista, Ümit Inatçi, Ilona Lebedeva, Francesco Gallo Mazzeo, Ezio Pagano, Marcello Palminteri, Nina Pogarčić, Slobodanka Rakić-Šefer, Victor Arellano Rey, Anna Maria Ruta, Gaetano Salerno, Natalia Sipovskaya.
His work is included in public and private collections in Italy and abroad.
PERMANENT COLLECTIONS
2025 – EMU – Eastern Mediterranean University Art Collection, Famagusta, Cyprus.
2023 – CAMUSAC – Cassino Museum of Contemporary Art, Cassino, Italy.
2023 – Diaghilev Museum of Contemporary Art, Saint Petersburg, Russia.
2023 – Fondazione Orestiadi – Museo delle Trame Mediterranee, Gibellina, Italy.
2022 – MMOMA – Moscow Museum of Modern Art, Moscow, Russia.
Since 2016 – MUSEUM – Osservatorio dell’Arte Contemporanea in Sicilia, Bagheria, Italy.
2013 – Artothek – Zentral und Landesbibliothek Berlin (ZLB), Berlin, Germany.
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2025 – Lightness is the Rhythm of Vanishing – State Institute for Art Studies (SIAS / ГИИ), Moscow, Russia – Curated by Natalia Sipovskaya
2025 – Lightness is the Rhythm of Vanishing – Rauf Raif Denktaş Kültur Kongre Sarayi – Ayhan Menteş Exhibition Hall, Famagusta, Cyprus – Curated by Ümit Inatçı (Catalogue available)
2023 – Levkas – Diaghilev Museum of Contemporary Art, Saint Petersburg, Russia – Curated by Tommaso Evangelista (Catalogue available)
2023 – Il Colore del Vento – Spazio Contemporaneo Agorà, Palermo, Italy – XII Settimana delle Culture, in collaboration with Fondazione Orestiadi – Museo delle Trame Mediterranee – Curated by Anna Maria Ruta
2022 – Il Colore del Vento – A.S. Pushkin Public Library, Moscow, Russia – Curated by Elizaveta Kruglova and Elena Bychkova (Catalogue available)
2021 – Luce Trasparente – Novgorod Center of Contemporary Art, Veliky Novgorod, Russia – Curated by Ezio Pagano (Catalogue available)
2007 – Silenzi – Narodni Muzej, Zaječar, Serbia – Curated by Bora Dimitrijević and Nina Pogarčić
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2025 – 35 years of the Diaghilev Museum of Contemporary Art Collection, Saint Petersburg, Russia – Curated by Anastasija Karlova
2024 – Blu Sicilia: il mare nell’arte isolana – Società Operaia di Mutuo Soccorso, Modica, Italy – Curated by Giuliana Fiori and Chiara Canali (Catalogue available)
2024 – Donazioni – Fondazione Orestiadi – Museo delle Trame Mediterranee, Gibellina, Italy – Curated by Enzo Fiammetta
HISTORICAL EXHIBITIONS [EXPAND]
Solo Exhibitions
2024 – Sichtbar/Unsichtbar – Galerie Sievi, Berlin, Germany – Curated by Rania Sid Otmane
2018 – San Gregorio Art Gallery, Venice, Italy – Curated by Maria Giovanna Dal Tin (Catalogue available)
2017 – La Necessità del Caso – Wunderkammer 7, Venice, Italy – Curated by Adolfina De Stefani and Gaetano Salerno
2014 – La Necessità del Caso – Palazzo Ca’ Zanardi, Venice, Italy – Curated by Andrea Chinellato (Catalogue available)
2013 – In triade – Galerie Sievi, Berlin, Germany – Curated by Brigitte Sievi
2010 – Silenzi – Galerie Sievi, Berlin, Germany – Curated by Brigitte Sievi
2008 – La Sposa del Buio – Alexander Alvarez Contemporary Art, Alessandria, Italy – Curated by Gianluca Randazzo and Stefania Salmoiraghi
2006 – Art Klub Canaletto, Belgrade, Serbia – Curated by Olja Cerović
1999 – Silenzi 1999-2001 – Galleria V&V Projects, Vicenza, Italy – Curated by Victor Arellano Rey (Catalogue available)
1999 –Silenzi – Scoletta dei Calegheri, Venice, Italy (Catalogue available)
1995 – Galleria Spazio Arte, Gavi – Italy
1993 – Chiesa della SS. Annunziata, Alessandria – Italy
Group Exhibitions
2019 – Seen anything interesting?, Bugno Art Gallery, Venice, Italy
2018 – Bugno Art Gallery, Venice, Italy
2018 – VIII Rassegna d’Arte Contemporanea, Casa dei Carraresi, Treviso, Italy – Curated by Daniel Buso (Catalogue available)
2010 – I Concorso di Pittura Hotel Casanova, Duchcov, Czech Republic – Curated by Giacomo Pellegrini
2009 – IX Concorso La Fenice et Des Artistes, Trieste, Italy – Curated by Giacomo Pellegrini (Catalogue available)
INSTITUTIONAL ARCHIVES AND LIBRARIES
The works, monographs, and exhibition catalogues dedicated to the artistic research of Elio Cassarà are indexed and preserved within prestigious institutional collections and library systems both in Italy and abroad, available to researchers, art historians, and enthusiasts.
MMOMA — Moscow Museum of Modern Art Research Library, Moscow – Russia
Preserved Volume: “Elio Cassara. Il colore del vento” (Monograph, published 2021)
Specifications: 118 illustrated pages, written in Italian and Russian.
Critical Essays & Contributions: Ezio Pagano, Ilona Lebedeva, Tommaso Evangelista.
Institutional Contacts: Phone: +7 (495) 699 80 52 | Email: library@mmoma.ru
Library Shelfmark: 85.103(3)64-8Кассара Э. [E44]
Institutional Archive: MMOMA Research Library Moscow – Official library record for “Il Colore del Vento” exhibition catalogue, Edizioni Ezio Pagano (2022)
Library of the Fondazione La Quadriennale di Roma – Italy
Preserved Volume: “Elio Cassara – Trasparenze” (Monograph, published 2017)
Specifications: 96 illustrated pages, Written in Italian and English
Critical Essays & Contributions: Ezio Pagano, Francesco Gallo Mazzeo, Marcello Palminteri, Gaetano Salerno.
Catalogue Presence: Officially indexed in the Italian National Library Service (SBN).
Institutional Contacts: Phone: +39 0697745306 | Email: biblioteca@quadriennalediroma.org
National SBN Identification Code: IT\ICCU\VEA\1243247
Institutional Link to OPAC SBN – Official library record for “Trasparenze”, Edizioni Ezio Pagano
Library of the Historical Archives of Contemporary Arts — La Biennale di Venezia – Italy
Preserved Volume: “Elio Cassara – Trasparenze” (Monograph, published 2017)
Specifications: 96 illustrated pages, Written in Italian and English
Critical Essays & Contributions: Ezio Pagano, Francesco Gallo Mazzeo, Marcello Palminteri, Gaetano Salerno.
Catalogue Presence: Officially indexed in the Italian National Library Service (SBN).
Institutional Contacts: Phone: +39 0415218938 | Email: biblioteca.asac@labiennale.org
National SBN Identification Code: IT\ICCU\VEA\1243247
Institutional Link to OPAC SBN – Official library record for “Trasparenze”, Edizioni Ezio Pagano
