Gaetano Tranchino

Gaetano Tranchino
Born1938 (age 86–87)
OccupationPainter
Years active1964–present
StyleNaïve

Gaetano Tranchino (born 1938) is an Italian Naïve painter, primarily known for his still-life works.[1] His art mainly depicts scenes from Sicily. According to writer and novelist Leonardo Sciascia, Tranchino's work is influenced by literature, particularly that of Jorge Luis Borges and Joseph Conrad.[2]

Biography

Gaetano Tranchino (born 1938) is an Italian painter from Syracuse, Sicily. Active since the 1960s, his work has been exhibited in Italy and abroad and has attracted critical attention in newspapers and art publications. An Irish Times review of his 2010 Dublin exhibition described his paintings as dreamlike and narrative in character.[3] Italian writer Leonardo Sciascia wrote about Tranchino in Corriere della Sera in connection with an exhibition at Palazzo Steri in Palermo.[4]

Early life

Tranchino was born in Syracuse (Ortigia), Sicily, in 1938. Published biographical accounts place his early life and career on the island.[5]

Career

Tranchino held his first exhibitions in the 1960s and later presented solo and group shows in Italy and abroad. His work was exhibited in Dublin in 2010 at RUA RED (Tallaght) under the title The Place of Memory, receiving a review in The Irish Times.[6] In 2022, he presented I luoghi della memoria ("Places of Memory"), an exhibition of around twenty paintings exploring recurring motifs of architecture, figures, and objects.[7]

Style and themes

Critics have emphasized the narrative and dreamlike qualities of Tranchino’s imagery. In his 2010 review, Aidan Dunne of The Irish Times described the works as “pictorial fables” that combined warmth with controlled nostalgia.[8] Leonardo Sciascia addressed Tranchino’s painting in Corriere della Sera, situating it in relation to memory and literature.[9] The 2015 monograph by Fina Serena Barbagallo surveys Tranchino’s motifs, development, and references to Sicilian settings.[10]

Reception

Tranchino’s work has been discussed by national press critics such as Aidan Dunne in The Irish Times and by Italian literary figures, notably Leonardo Sciascia.[8][9]

Illustration and collaborations

Tranchino has illustrated books published by Ireland’s Dedalus Press. His drawings appear in the anthology The Word Ark: A Pocket Book of Animal Poems (2020), edited by poet Pat Boran.[11]

"Casa azzurra con giardino" / "Blue house with a Garden"

Illustrative work

Irish poet Pat Boran has featured Tranchino's artwork on several book covers. The anthology The Word Ark: A Pocket Book of Animal Poems includes Tranchino's line drawings as illustrations. Boran wrote the catalogue introduction to one of Tranchino's exhibitions and is involved with the official Gaetano Tranchino website.[12]

References

  1. ^ Cosmogonia 1904 (2020-08-06). Cosmogonia – Intervista a Gaetano Tranchino. Retrieved 2024-09-26 – via YouTube.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ Blanco, Tiziana (6 July 2022). "Gaetano Tranchino, the painter who creates the encounter between art and literature". Libreriamo is Culthic. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
  3. ^ Dunne, Aidan (5 May 2010). "The Place of Memory at RUA RED". The Irish Times. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  4. ^ Curreri, Luigi (2013). Leonardo Sciascia Colloquia, IV. 1912+1–2013. Carocci. p. 92. ISBN 9788843067942. Sciascia's article on Gaetano Tranchino in Corriere della Sera, 2 July, for the exhibition at Palazzo Steri. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: checksum (help)
  5. ^ Barbagallo, Fina Serena (2015). Gaetano Tranchino. Vita e arte, come Ulisse… nella sua terra. Tyche. ISBN 9788899060114.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference IrishTimes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Gaetano Tranchino – I luoghi della memoria". Exibart. 2022. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  8. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference IrishTimes2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Curreri was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Barbagallo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ "The Word Ark: A Pocket Book of Animal Poems". Dedalus Press. 2020. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  12. ^ https://www.dedaluspress.com/product/the-next-life/#:~:text=The%20first%20new%20collection%20of%20poems%20in