Painting

Dentro La Chiesa

By cropping images and solely capturing certain out-of-context moments and experiences, I present the viewer with a fragmented and disconnected sense of self, removing them from the total context of experience. The intimacy of these iPhone-style... More

Painting

Il Mare

Water has long been viewed as a source of purity and renewal, especially in relation to Catholic rituals of virtue.

Painting

In Ombra

'In Ombra' depicts my shadow cast upon my relative’s family home in a remote and mountainous region. There is a golden glow emitted, an idealized world in which I exist wholly as part of the cultural world that I was raised to believe in. My shadow... More

Painting

La Croce

Although the symbol of the cross predates its adoption and use by the Catholic and Christian church systems, it has since become a widely-recognizable emblem of Catholicism. The gesture of making the sign of the cross and how it provides both... More

Painting

Life and Death

Often said to be messengers of the spiritual realm, the lifeless body of this bright lemon-yellow bird is a jarring sight, despite its peaceful and serene-looking expression. Fragility and mortality are hyper-analyzed through symbolic representation.

Painting

Malocchio

This painting embodies generations worth of superstitious belief and prayer ritual in southern Italian culture. Depicting amulets being sold in a tourist shop in Calabria, the 'mano cornuto' or chili pepper 'corni' charms are commonly kept or worn... More

Painting

Mi Chiamo

A cropped cobalt blue graffiti phrase shows the hint of the words “mi chiamo”, translating to “I am called,”. A common phrase of introducing one’s name, I introduce the viewer into the body of work while still reminding them of the way in which I... More

Painting

Sacrilegious

Ancient practices of superstition and the desire to possess amulets that offer spiritual and psychological protection have evolved into the corno or “devil horn” as is a common amulet associated with the malocchio in contemporary southern Italy.... More

Painting

Zeppoli di San Giuseppe

Zeppoli pastries are baked and eaten specifically as part of an annual celebration for both the Catholic feast day of St. Joseph and Father’s Day in Italy. A ritual that has been passed down through several generations within my family, it is a... More

Work by

Isabella Nicastro

Drawing and Painting/ Fine Arts

“Utilizing a strong interplay of light and shadow, my contemporary representations of still-life and portraiture carefully investigate the intersection between concepts of lived experience, familial...” [More]