Raffaele Santillo
1966 born in S. Maria Capua Vetere, Caserta (IT) lives and works in Pordenone (IT)
, where he has been based since 1998.
He studied at the State Art Institute of San Leucio and attended the Architecture program at the University of Naples Federico II. In Pordenone, he worked for over a decade as a collaborator at the Giordani Architecture Studio.
He has been painting continuously since 2005, a practice partly driven by his distance from his native Campania and from the people who shaped the first part of his life. His work often originates from memories and past situations, filtered through temporal and spatial distance. His paintings are marked by a fluid and minimal gesture, featuring barely hinted figuration and the use of layered transparent color. These elements generate unexpected and evocative scenes with a strong emotional atmosphere. Overlapping figures, sometimes with misaligned contours, appear in interiors or natural spaces as blurred or fleeting memories, depicting everyday life and ordinary environments. His process عادة begins with a rough pencil sketch, followed by layered applications of acrylic and oil paint. While the subjects are primarily rooted in personal memory, the process gradually shifts toward intuition, allowing the act of painting to transcend mere recollection. The development of the work opens up unexpected possibilities, where emotional and associative elements emerge and shape the final image. He embraces imperfections and revisions, often leaving them visible as evidence of the evolving pictorial process. A central aspect of his recent work is the pursuit of synthesis, aiming to express the complexity of the human psyche through essential visual elements.
Selected solo exhibitions: 2026, Immagina una gioia, Ceravento Art Area, Pescara; 2025, Quotidiano transitorio, curated by D. Capra, Palazzo Ragazzoni, Sacile (PN); 2024, Faccio sempre debiti con i sogni, curated by S. Monti, SMDOT/Arte Contemporanea, Udine; 2023, Wein & Kusnt, Weingut Kodolitsch, Leibnitz (AT); 2018, Pitture in attesa, curated by D. Capra, Agenzia Generale 1832 di Generali Italia, Pordenone; 2016, L’Estate del davanzale, curated by P. Bristot, Biblioteca Civica di Pordenone.
Selected group exhibitions: 2025, Da Gonzalo Borondo a He Wei, curated by Cesare Biasini Selvaggi, Fondazione The Bank, Bassano del Grappa (TV); Sentimental boys, curated by L. Boisi, Chàssis, Turin; Non per ripetere il mondo, curated by E. Comuzzi, Villa Ottelio Savorgnan, Ariis di Rivignano (PN); Arte tra le Calli, curated by Associazione A, Marano Lagunare; 2017, L’abitudine di tornare, two-person exhibition with Iva Lulashi, curated by Eva Comuzzi, Palazzo D’Attimis, Maniago (PN); 2015, Fabula-Enigmi, curated by G. Baldo, Museo del Paesaggio, Torre di Mosto (VE).
