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 work, painted on five plywood panels, is installed in the lobby of Centre Père-Marquette, a place for circulation and encounters.
It represents the space where it was installed, thus proposing a mise en abyme effect. Featuring a multitude of figures on dissimilar planes, this fresco portrays the historical aspect of the family by evoking different ages of life.
Built from photographic models, the mural displays a wide range of techniques, from photographic realism to abstract painting. The setting is punctuated with openings to architectural details such as the former Angus factory, a stained-glass window from the Botanical Gardens, and steel structures of buildings under construction.