Marco Sassone

Marco Sassone (b. 1942)  is an internationally acclaimed painter based in Toronto, Canada.

Born in Florence, Italy, the most poignant and enduring of Sassone’s influences can be traced back to his studies in the 1960’s with painter Silvio Loffredo, himself a student of the Austrian master, Oskar Kokoschka. The vigorous brushstrokes and vibrant colours appealed to Sassone, offering the artist a foundation that has remained throughout his career.

Sassone has established himself on the American art scene challenging the expectation of genre of the time and forging an individual path with a vision and style of painting distinctly his own. His first New York City solo show was presented at Wally Findlay Galleries in 1979.

In an era of mass reproduction and the digital exploitation of imagery, his subjects express the tension between conventional forms and contemporary relevance, thus inviting interpretation in a classical as well as a modern perspective.  The status of power in traditional foundation is particularly significant to his work, which reconnects with the archetypes of century-old conventions of representation.

Marco Sassone gained international recognition for his groundbreaking exhibition Home on the Streets that opened in San Francisco in 1994 and travelled to Los Angeles, Florence and Toronto. Author Peter Selz, former curator of MOMA, New York, stated in the exhibition catalogue: He found the homeless a compelling subject for very powerful paintings in which a fascinating effect is achieved by the contrast of the misery of the motif and the eloquence of his vigorous brushwork.

The artist’s paintings, drawings and prints has been the subject of many exhibitions, including those at National Academy of Design, New York (1977); Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery (1988); Berheim-Jeune, Paris (1988); Cloisters of Santa Croce, Florence (1997); Pietrasanta Museum, Pietrasanta, Italy (2003); San Angelo Museum of Fine Art, Texas (2014); Bata Shoe Museum, Toronto (2016); Columbus Centre, Toronto (2019). His paintings are acquired by private and public collectors throughout the world.

Significant among numerous books and catalogues that have been published about the artist’s work is the monograph Sassone by art historian Donelson Hoopes, former senior curator of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

The artist’s autobiography, American Journey: My Life in Art was released in March 2023.

Marco Sassone was knighted into the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic by President Sandro Pertini in 1982.

For a complete Curriculum Vitae visit www.marcosassone.com