Gaetano Russo: sculptor / stonemason
Gaetano Russo was born in Belpasso, in the former province of Catania, on 23 August 1974. He is the son of art. After his studies, carried out at the Art School of Belpasso, he began to work as an apprentice stonemason. Thus he followed the footprints of his father, master stonemason, owner of a Sicilian tradition with the use of ancient techniques to work the stone. It was, in fact, Gaetano's father who taught his junior son the secrets of this tiring but, at the same time, rewarding job. Sculpting stone, designing and creating figures are like giving life and soul to the stone block.
With remarkable professionalism, Gaetano exercises the profession of sculptor of stone, a manual art that is disappearing because it is replaced by other means and other technological professional activities. With his intelligent gaze, with his lively eyes, with his spirit of observation, he knows how to grasp the essence of things, enhancing them with the sensitivity of beauty.
Gaetano is not a poet, he is not a writer, he is the master stonemason who works the stone with intelligence, with heart, with hands, with imagination, with love. The work of the stonemason is hard as he himself, with great modesty, declared: " I'm more of a good craftsman".
In 1994, Gaetano Russo, from his hometown moved to Mistretta, his mother's town, where he worked in a stone quarry in the area. Thus he began to give meaning to his creative activity aimed at the realization of urban furniture works and sculptures for private clients, obtaining notable positive affirmations that have expanded his popularity. In carrying out his art as a stonemason, Gaetano, for his creativity, is a stimulus and an example to young people looking for a job because he demonstrates that the stonemason's trade is a new form of professional occupation that transforms craftsmanship into ART. creative. Gaetano's vital commitment and strength are contagious. The energy he possesses is unique, strong, resistant, not weakened by some disappointment, unfortunately, experienced.
In 1996, Gaetano opened the sculpture workshop in Mistretta, in Piazza Del Progresso.
The raw material used by Gaetano is exclusively the golden stone of the local quarries, a quartzarenite sandstone with a golden color whose hardness and characteristics have been successfully appreciated also abroad. Each time Gaetano knows how to carefully choose the block of rock from which to draw his creature. In his laboratory Gaetano, made by his inspiration, and aided by the tools of the trade, (Text source: http://nellaseminara.altervista.org/omaggio-a-gaetano-russo-lo-scalpellino-di-mistretta/)
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Technical sheet prepared by: Region of Sicily - Department of cultural heritage and Sicilian identity - CRicd: Regional center for inventory, cataloging and documentation and Sicilian regional film library
ABSENT
After the Second World War, either because of the massive emigration or of the changed building construction methods, the city of Mistretta revealed an upheaval in the traditional heritage of the trades and in particular that of the stonemason for working the golden stone of the place, the trade moreover it is tiring and dangerous and the use of stone onerous compared to the new easier and cheaper materials. This caused the closure of the major stone quarries in the area, creating a gap in the traditional role of stone processing. Fortunately, in recent decades a greater sensitivity to the return to stone has arisen, not only in the construction field but also in the field of urban and domestic furnishing accessories. In this context, Gaetano Russo distinguished himself for his skills and talent thanks also to the experience he acquired, brilliantly embodying the figure of the last stonemason-sculptor of the community.
Mistretta is the city of stone par excellence, whose golden-blond stone is highly appreciated abroad. In the maze of alleys the stone houses appear austerely elegant and constitute the urban plot of the place where you walk on the local stone cobbles. In such an environment, the very young Gaetano Russo begins to work with his father in the Etnean quarries; he initially describes the tiring experience as "hell" but at the same time he learns various processing techniques. In a short time, Il Russo becomes a well-known personality in the world of sculpture and carries out urban furniture works both in Catania and in Mistretta as well as promoting cultural initiatives in the city.
Web card insertion: Ignazio Caloggero
Photo: web
Information contributions: Ignazio Caloggero / Web
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