When we talk about Pietrasanta, we cannot help but think of art. For years now the town 'Pearl' of Versilia has stood out for its attention to art, as demonstrated by both the numerous galleries that dot the historic center and the open-air exhibitions that are inaugurated every spring in the beautiful Piazza del Duomo .
In this regard, on Saturday 24 June we witnessed the inauguration of a work with a truly profound meaning: "La Mia Guenika", a mural by the Sicilian artist Tano Pisano.
Tano Pisano (Lentini, 1947) is an honorary citizen of Pietrasanta, and it is precisely here that he decided to open his showroom in via P. E. Barsanti 46. An internationally renowned artist, Tano trained at the Art Institute of Catania and later at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome, under the guidance of Masters such as Montanarini, Gentilini and Maccari. Through painting, sculpture, engravings, Tano Pisano brings to life a world full of colors, but always through a meaning of denunciation of the critical issues of our millennium.
And the denunciation is clear in the mural "My Guernika": the work, a clear tribute to Pablo Picasso 50 years after his death, speaks of the horrors and problems that afflict our times: the brutality of wars, arms trafficking , violence, the difficulties of migrants.
The work was placed in Via Sant'Agostino, along the external wall of the cloister, in the presence of Mayor Giovannetti: "Art is a great messenger of peace. It creates unthinkable bonds and collaborations, unites distant places, speaks a universal language. Pietrasanta, which has art in its DNA, could only welcome the idea of its honorary citizen, Maestro Tano Pisano, with deep gratitude and sincere participation: to pay homage to Pablo Picasso, the authentic genius of the twentieth century, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his death but, above all, to give a new voice to his cry of resistance against all war, of peace and of hope". The mayor's words introduce this work, painted on twelve Plexiglas panels for a total of six meters in width and two tall.
Tano Pisano explained that his version of the "Guernica" derives from his visit three months ago to Mougins (France), where Picasso died in 1973 and where Tano himself will exhibit an exhibition next year:
“I started painting the work in Pietrasanta and when the mayor knew what I was working on he wanted the mural to be shown first in Pietrasanta once it was finished. We found a compromise, whereby the work is presented for the first time here and, in 2024, in a major exhibition in the Mougins Monumental".
Among the various stories that intertwine within the work, in addition to the war, there is talk of migrants arriving across the sea, of children who die, painful and intense themes that underline the suffering and anguish we live in our era . As in Picasso's work, here too the deformed human figures with sharp lines help to underline the drama of the scene.
Unlike Picasso's Guernica, however, in the work of Tano Pisano we notice an element of great difference, namely the colour. Tano, in fact, despite the tragic nature of the portrayed situation, wanted to give a note of hope through his distinctive element, i.e. the use of colour.
For more information about Tano Pisano and his works, visit the website http://www.tanopisano.com/.
