Mario Schifano

We authenticate, certify, issue certificates of authenticity (COA), appraise the value and broker the sale of paintings and drawings by Mario SCHIFANO.

Italian

Born in 1934, Homs, Libya.

Died in 1998, Rome, Italy, aged 64.

He spent most of his life in Italy, particularly in Rome, but also briefly lived in New York in the early 1960s, where he interacted with American pop art and avant-garde movements.

Typical Subject Matter:

Mario Schifano is best known for his paintings and mixed media works that blend pop art, abstract expressionism, and Italian avant-garde influences. His work often engages with themes such as popular culture, media imagery, and consumerism. Schifano frequently incorporated advertisements, television stills, and photographs as subject matter, appropriating the visual language of mass media.

He is also recognized for his landscape and urban scenes, which reflect a modern, industrialized world. In his later works, Schifano's subjects became more abstract, focusing on colour fields, gestural brushwork, and geometric forms, showing a progression towards conceptual art.

Typical Style:

Schifano is renowned for his ability to combine pop culture with fine art, merging elements of abstract expressionism with the visual language of advertising and mass media. His work is characterized by the use of bold colours, fluid brushstrokes, and layered imagery. In his early works, Schifano's style had a distinct pop art sensibility, with the incorporation of commercial icons, photographic imagery, and bold, graphic lines.

Over time, his style evolved to become more experimental and abstract, focusing on visual texture and layering, while still maintaining a relationship to popular imagery. Schifano's work often appears dynamic and energetic, with a focus on movement and spontaneity. His use of acrylic paint was crucial to his ability to achieve rapid, expressive strokes, and he often employed collage techniques to integrate various materials into his paintings.

Typical Material and Media:

Schifano worked in a wide range of media, including oil, acrylics, and mixed media on canvas and paper. He often used photographic imagery and advertisements, incorporating silkscreen printing, collage, and textural techniques into his compositions. His experimentation with materials extended to using neon lights, found objects, and film in certain installations.

Schifano is also known for his use of photography, integrating photographic images into his paintings.

If you own a painting or a drawing by or attributed to Mario Schifano, we would like to learn about it. Please send us photos or contact us at [email protected]. You will generally receive a response within 24 hours.