BIOGRAPHY

Comics are art!
...I paint it in acrylic on canvas.

Umberto Gagliano

Designer | Art Painter

The comic becomes art, painted in acrylic on canvas.

Umberto Gagliano's artistic production is a passionate tribute to John Romita Sr., the legendary illustrator of American Marvel Comics.
It was 1977 when, at just seven years old, the encounter with those tables forever marked his style, which moved between comics and Pop Art, in an ideal dialogue with pioneers like Roy Lichtenstein.

His career gained momentum thanks to his participation in important Comics events, where he exhibited his first works alongside the greatest contemporary Marvel artists, receiving recognition and appreciation from them.

Today Gagliano boasts numerous solo and group exhibitions: he has shown in New York, Dubai, London, Paris, Berlin, Zurich, Cologne, Basel, Palma de Mallorca, the Caribbean and throughout Italy, in institutional and private galleries and in prestigious locations, including the spaces of La Rinascente.

His style, typically American comics from the 1960s, has also been chosen for official projects, including the images dedicated to the Feast of Saint Agatha in Catania, the third largest and most attended Christian celebration in the world. The artist dedicated an entire collection of acrylics on canvas to this event:
W S. Agata – Catania in Pop Art.

Gagliano's works are present in comics sector catalogues and in the National Art Catalogues (National Institute of Culture 2024).

All his works come to life in his studio in Catania, a city that remains the beating heart of his inspiration.

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2025/2026

Catania, "Pop Icons" and "Catania in Pop-Art", Window display at Rinascente. RINASCENTE Store.

2024/2025

Catania, "Made in Italy" and "Catania in Pop-Art," a window display at Rinascente. RINASCENTE Store.

2024

Catania, Sant'Agata 2024, Window display in Rinascente. RINASCENTE Store.

2022

CataniaPOP ART & COMICS, Gallery of Modern Art. Department of Culture, Municipality of Catania.

CataniaLEGALITY, Palazzo degli Elefanti - Council Chamber. Catania City Council.

2020

Catania, POP ART & COMICS, RINASCENTE Store.

2019

Catania, VIVA S.AGATA - CATANIA IN POP ART, Palace of Culture, Municipality of Catania.

2018

CataniaPOP ART AND COMICS, Etna Comics 2018, Exhibition Area. Le Ciminiere - Catania.

Catania, VIVA S.AGATA - CATANIA IN POP ART, Palace of Culture, Municipality of Catania.

2016

Catania,POP ART AND COMICS - SHOTS AND BRUSHES, Proloco and Municipality of Milo (CT).

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2025

New York, ARTEXPO NEW YORK 2025, Pier 36 Manhattan, New York (USA).

Miami, ARTBOX EXPO MIAMI 2025, Miami (USA).

Paris, ARTEXPO PARIS 2025, Carrousel du Louvre, Paris (FR).

Colony, ART COLOGNE 2025, GREATLIVE - Loftlocation, Cologne (D).

Basel, ART BASEL WEEK, Artboxy live -Train Station, Basel (CH).

Zurich,SWISSARTEXPO 2025, Wannerhalle - Central Station - Zurich (CH).

St. Georges, "Art Bar Grenada Gallery", Grenada (Caribbean Islands).

Dubai, "ANDAKULOVA Gallery", Dubai (UAE).

Zug, "THOMSON GALLERY", Zug (CH).

Palm, "CASA del ARTE" Gallery, Palma (ES).

Berlin,"Nicoleta Gallery", Berlin (DE).

2024

Zug, "THOMSON GALLERY", Zug (CH).

Palm, "CASA del ARTE" Gallery, Palma (ES).

Berlin, "Nicoleta Gallery", Berlin (DE).

Dubai, "ANDAKULOVA GALLERY", Dubai (UAE).

Paris, ARTEXPO PARIS 2024, Agnes Nord Galleries, Paris (FR).

2023

Venice, CASANOVA, Venice Art Gallery, Venice.

RavennaSPRING IN ART, Ravenna Art Gallery, Ravenna.

Venice, COLLATERAL TO THE VENICE CARNIVAL, Venice Art Gallery, Venice.

2022

Venice, EPILOGUE TO THE VENICE BIENNALE. Venice Art Gallery, Venice.

Monza, POP ART, MIA (Monza International Art), Monza.

2018

London, SICILY FEST 2018, The Boiler House, Brick Lane, East London, London.

2017

Ragusa, ARCADIA COMICS & GAMES 2017, Giardini Iblei, Ragusa Ibla.

Catania, ETNA COMICS 2017. Exhibition in Artist Alley, Le Ciminiere - Catania.

2016

Catania, ETNA COMICS 2016. Exhibition in Artist Alley, Le Ciminiere - Catania.

Palermo, PALERMO COMIC CONVENTION 2016. Exhibition in the Comics Area, Fiera del Mediterraneo, Palermo.

2015

Catania, THE ORIGINAL COMICS OF MARVEL AVENGERS AGE OF ULTRON, Leaf, Sicilia Journal, Catania.

2004

CataniaFESTIVAL OF LIGHT, Second Edition, AR.PE.CA. and the Municipality of Catania. Boschetto della Plaja, Catania.

2003

CataniaFESTIVAL OF LIGHT, First edition, AR.PE.CA. and the Municipality of Catania. Boschetto della Plaja, Catania.


ARTIST STATEMENT

I was born artistically at the age of seven in 1977.

One August morning my father decided to give me a "SPIDER-MAN" comic book that had been released in America back in 1966. I was captivated by John Romita Sr.'s drawings, so alive, so full of energy, that they seemed to be in motion.

before my eyes.

Every line, every shadow, every detail is a small miracle of beauty and precision.

Those tables are not just images, they are the gateway to a universe of color and imagination, a universe that,

a few years after its publication in America,

will echo in the Pop Art works of Roy Lichtenstein, transforming comics into icons of modern art.

John Romita Sr.

Still images invade my mind, from comics to television, from music to design, the concept of "Beauty" that accompanies my childhood spills over into my works in a reality sometimes "revised" and much more romantic to shelter me from the ugliness of everyday life, and where the colors of superhero costumes, yellow, red, and blue, become the absolute protagonists.

John Romita Sr.

Before bringing my paintings to life, I sometimes create complex, detailed architectural compositions in pencil on paper, depicting monuments and buildings. The world's wonders and iconic locations become the backdrop for comic book characters, who are thus reinterpreted in new and surprising settings.

Bozzetto

In the desire to preserve the

emotions of my childhood,

through my works,

Mostly a tribute to John Romita Sr., I invite the viewer to enter my inner world.