Filippo Panseca: The Meta-Painter Who Became a Farmer on Pantelleria

Filippo Panseca, born in Palermo in 1940, has been making art for over six decades. After years in Milan, he moved permanently to Pantelleria just before the pandemic. The island's name inspired his 1980 exhibition 'Panseca 5000 a.C. genesi della sfera invisibile,' linking 'pan' (all) and 'seca' (drawing) to the ancient Sesi people. Panseca's work explores biodegradability, as seen in his 1970s 'Arcobaleno degradazione' series, where colors change over time. He once created a pyramid-shaped 'Piramide telematica' for the 1989 Italian Socialist Party congress, allowing global connection. In 1981, he proposed a biodegradable replacement for Canova's Victory at Brera. Now a farmer, he wakes at 5 AM, cultivates his land, and creates rock carvings referencing ancient Pantesque populations. He recalls advice from critic Marco Valsecchi in the early 1960s: to simplify his palette, starting with only black and white. Panseca's art remains independent, avoiding group movements, and he questions the durability of artworks for collectors.