Giudecca 795

Eclectic Italian contemporary artist, son of a fisherman, since he was a very young boy Berico distinguished himself for his talent. It was the "al terzo" sails, so common in the upper Adriatic, to inspire Berico's painting on sails. Symbolic representations are combined with an explosive fantasy. His subjects often are sacred, or protective for the boat and its fishermen. As a tribute to this ancient and popular religious tradition, Berico paints canvasses in a combination of precious and "poor" fabrics.

We invite you to watch our videos on YouTube:

• The exhibit on the beach (with Dario Fo, Nobel Prize for Literature)
• Berico's sails in homes and studios
• photo gallery of his works (Vele Innamorate)

Colored earths, seawater, and the sail cotton, are the original materials from which Berico reinvents the ancient tradition of sail making. The sails are real works of art, characterized by incomparable and unique chromatics. His production obtained appreciation by the greatest collectors, nowadays in constant search for a genuinely popular art, a passion which for Berico was born when his father's old sail came to his hands. Berico is the heir of the historical "Pittor de Anzoi" (Painters of Angels in Venetian dialect), who used to paint the sails in Venice; he adapts their themes to his artistic sensibility. The resulting plains, seams and "patches" make every piece unique.
Dario Fo, Italian Nobel prize for Literature, is one of Berico's early fans: "In the large entrance to the portico of our Sala di Cesenatico house, - Dario Fo says - a sail proudly stands which extends along the wall as far as the floor. This is in fact a painting with pieces of fabric of different colour, stitched one to the other with veins that make it magical. This is the work of Enrico Bartolini, aka Berico, a painter with great sensitivity and a fine taste for materials and colours. Using simple and poor materials he manages to create extremely poetic atmospheres."

Some art of sacred theme by Berico hads been displayed at the Church of San Salvador in Venice in the summer of 2012, as "pareci" (decorations) on the occasion of the feast of the Saint - a forgotten form of art, rediscovedered in a project by Berico and Giudecca 795 in partnership with Rubelli. (click >> "Vexilla Regis" for more on this.)