BATO

BATO was born in Rome in 1977. He holds a degree in Literature and Philosophy and a diploma in art from the capital’s Liceo Artistico Sperimentale Alberto Savinio.  A natural draftsman who experiments with various techniques and mediums, Bato’s work encompasses painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking, and even animated video.

Bato depicts the very essence of his subject matter in a fluid and spontaneous manner. Stimulated by his interest in jazz, improvisation and gestural painting are key features of his working method. His latest artworks are jungle themed, drawing inspiration from an in-depth study of zoology and the wild but also his love of the literary works of adventure writers such as Rudyard Kipling and Emilio Salgari. His subjects include lions, tigers, elephants, crocodiles and gorillas, simplified into essential forms using expressive colour and energetic lines or transformed into a stylised range of sculpted creations in bronze, iron, steel, resin and clay.

In 2019-2020, the Tonino Guerra Museum in northern Italy hosted Bato’s solo exhibition Jungle featuring these latest animal paintings and sculptures.