After a year studying graphic design at the Catholic University of Chile, in Santiago, Rafael Sottolichio undertook a diploma in visual arts at the CÉGEP de Saint-Laurent in Montreal in 1991. He earned a BFA in 1996 and an MFA in 2009 at the Université du Québec à Montréal. Sottolichio has had work in numerous solo and group exhibitions. He has produced a number of murals, including including La maison que nous avons bâtie (The House That We Have Built) in 2007 for the Integration of a Public Work of Art Competition and the Pere-Marquette Centre in the borough of Rosemont-La-Petite-Patrie, and the one for the Patro Le Prévost community and recreation centre, Ensemble, in 2009.
He is represented by the Lacerte Contemporary Art Gallery.
Artwork description
The design of this mural painted by Rafael Sottolichio evokes the human values that the Patro center itself conveys through its community involvement. It also celebrates the Patro’s 100th anniversary: “100 years in the hearts of the people”. The two silhouettes in the foreground represent the heart of the Patro: a couple, friends, family members, two people of different cultures or of different generations. All the figurative elements are taken from photographs belonging to the Patro archives. Inspired by his visits to the center, Rafael Sottolichio chose to juxtapose different styles by including graphic as well as black and white photographic elements obtained from the Patro archives.