Maurilio Catalano was born in Palermo in 1942. A teacher at the Palermo Academy of Fine Arts, he progressed to become gallery director of Galleria Arte al Borgo, which he founded in 1963.

Mainly a commission artist, Catalano has amassed a touching and slightly parodic body of work centring on a nautical theme. The artist mixes sea and sky to produce poetic and colourful paintings. Whether spare or saturated, most of his compositions use a blue backdrop to make the elements he depicts stand out. In so doing, boats, hot air balloons and sea creatures become quasi-autonomous entities disconnected from their environment. This approach enables the artist to use his subject as a springboard for poignant, tongue-in-cheek commentary.