Artists Reflect on Isolation and Connection During Quarantine

In a series of reflections published by Artribune, five contemporary artists share their experiences and works created during the COVID-19 quarantine. Maria Vittoria Trovato, unable to comment further on lockdown, shares photographs taken aboard the ship Grande Atlantico, evoking nostalgia for travel and human connection across oceans. Lorenza Boisi presents two paintings: 'Autumn Night' (2020), depicting two figures on a small boat on Lake Maggiore, and 'My Solitary Life' (2019), inspired by Antoinette de Saint Lèger, who created the botanical garden on Brissago Island. Daniel Maillet, originally planning to move from Brazil to Italy, describes his studio in Cunha, a ceramics hub between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, and his works from the Milan/Ticino period (1988–2002) and equatorial/tropical period (2002–2020). Pino Deodato, working from a small kitchen space, creates small terracotta pieces like 'Il cielo in una stanza' (2020), reflecting domesticity and the pandemic's universal impact. Francesco Cuna's watercolor 'Smile' (2018) depicts a Harlequin figure dissolving into water and color, embodying nostalgia and ironic resilience.