Giuseppe Bertolino was born in Castelvetrano-Selinunte (Italy) on November, 1958.

Education: classical studies, post-diploma courses.

He attended the “Scuola Libera del Nudo” of the Academy of Fine Arts of Palermo.

After a long break, he began painting by using particular mixtures, oil material moulds, acrylics and enamels. His career is marked by the experimentation of particular techniques, where the painting material is the protagonist together with the scene, which is painted with hard-hedged colours. 

His paintings constantly tend towards the harmony of abstraction and they evoke a fantastic transmigration in which images of an invisible reality are broken apart in its single elements and then rearranged in purity. Large volumes of colour are crossed by hard splashes marking his strong and vehement personality; a plastic sense is combined with the richness of colour and suggests subtle relations with the polisemy connaturated in the muddle of vitality. His paintings add and subtract elements from reality and transforms them in impulses towards a new run into the space, its true world and its true substance. Bertolino’s paintings are experiences of life, they come to light from the fight against confusion and unpredictability, from the investigation of the quid which solves the enigmas and turns them in guardians and witnesses of an endless path.   

In these last years the artist attended the “Arte Fiera - Padova 2000” , “Vittoriarte 2000” , “Contemporanea - Forlì 2001” , “Arte Fiera - Padova 2001” , “Arte Expo Bari 2002” , “Udine 2002” , “Contemporanea - Forlì 2002” , “Arte Fiera - Padova 2002” .

He has often cooperated with institutions sponsoring his personal exhibitions: Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Culture, University of the Mediterranean, National Order of Journalists, Order of Sicilian Journalists, Superintendence of the Archeological Park of Selinunte; Municipality of Castelvetrano-Selinunte, Province of Trapani, Municipality of Palermo, Municipality of Forlì, Municipality of Parma, Municipality of Ferrara; Province of Ravenna, Province of Forlì, Province of Palermo, Province of Ferrara; Veneto Region, Sicily Region, Rotary Club Belice Valley, Rotary Club Forlì, Rotary Club Ravenna, Rotary Club Ferrara, Lions Club Forlì, Lions Club Ferrara, Lions Club Ravenna, Cassa dei Risparmi of Forlì Foundation, Banco di Sicilia Foundation, Cassa di Risparmio of Ravenna, Banca Popolare of Emilia Romagna (Rimini), Biblioteca Comunale of Bagheria, Istituto di Cultura Casa Cini (Ferrara), Sharjah Art Museum (Arab Emirats), Library of Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz (Max Planch-Institut), Biblioteca per l'Arte Contemporanea "Luigi Pecci" (Prato).

His activity is certified by a rich bibliography and by many radio-television reports. He is also present in several Art Catalogs and National and Foreign Archives: Arte Mondadori, Art Diary International-Flash Art, Victoria and Albert Museum Online Catalog - London, Alba Catalogo Comed, Archivio ElleQuadro of Genova, Library of Castelvetrano-Selinunte, The Journal of Art - Torino, Academy of Verbano, Archive of Mantova, Biennial Archive of Venezia, Contemporary Art Centre - Hawaii, Lucio Piccolo of Calanovella Foundation, Gallery of Modern Art - Palazzo Riccio TP; S. Marco d’Alunzio Municipality Library (ME), Principi Pignatelli Aragona Palace - Catelvetrano(TP); Civic Pinacoteque of Forlì; Principi Lancia Brolo Castle (ME); Province of Ferrara; Municipality of Ferrara; Italian Institute of Culture - New York.

He is present in many public and private collections, in Italy and in foreign countries.

Among his personal exhibitions you can find:

·       “L’Isola...nel vento”: Palazzo delle Aquile 1998 – Palermo.

·       “Orizzonti Infiniti”: Villa Florio 1999 – Palermo; Paolo Toschi Art Institute - Parma, 2000.

·       ”I Colori del Mediterraneo”: Principi Pignatelli Palace - Castelvetrano-Selinunte, 2001” , La Bottega Gallery - Ravenna, 2001; La Contrada Gallery – Forlì, 2001; Rocca di Caterina Sforza – Forlì, 2001.

·       ”Aqua/Aqua”: Castello Estense – Ferrara, 2002” .

·       “Ritorno alle Pleiadi”: Lucio Piccolo of Calanovella Foundation - Capo d’Orlando (ME), 2002.

·       “Aqua”: Caruso Gallery - Milazzo (ME), 2002.

·       “Picta”: Nuovo Segno Gallery – Forlì, 2002.

Some collective exhibitions:

·       National Exhibition of Contemporary Art – Efebo Award, organized by the artist himself in Castelvetrano Selinunte, 2000.

·       I Graffi della Mente, National Exhibition, Locri  2000.

·       Villa Farsetti National Exhibition, Dolo (VE) 2000.

·       Nuova Resurrezione, ex Railway Station, Selinunte 2000.

·       Path of creative laboratory: Pittura e Carcere, Rocca di Caterina Sforza - Casa Circondariale of Forlì 2001.

·       Contemporary Sicilian Painters, Barrafranca (En) 2001.

·       Gallery of Modern Art - Trapani Exhibition 2002.

Galleria