Free standing refrigerator

Smeg & Dolce&Gabbana 50's Style Aesthetic

Salvatore Sapienza was born in Catania in 1980. His passion for the decorative arts started when he was only 13 years old. His story as a decorator of Sicilian carts began by chance, when he painted an old wheel. After restoring the wheel and painting it, his father showed it to two veteran decorators. It was the beginning of a long story about art, love and craftsmanship and luckily has never ended. Salvatore began working with the decorators, Domenico Di Mauro and Antonio Zappalà, in their workshop. Di Mauro was his master and his mentor, teaching him all the tricks of the trade. He quickly fell in love with cart art and soon it blossomed into his great passion. With sacrifice and great effort, Salvatore has made over 30 Sicilian carts. Today Salvatore works in a fruit shop he took over from his grandfather 12 years ago. Who knows what he will create if in the future he finds time to indulge in his greatest passion every day.

Oil and enamel, 60 x 151 x 68.2 cm This refrigerator is a full celebration of the epic-chivalric spirit shared by Sicilian carts and the puppet theatre. The front panel represents three episodes of intrepid battle: in the upper register we see Guido di Santacroce and Leondoro routing the army of Roget of Constantinople; in the central cameo are Corradino and Bagail defeating the army of Zanclea; the bottom rondel portrays the bloody battle of Baiazette, led by Erminio della Stella d'Oro. The two side panels are characterised by a geometric play of triangles and diamonds, adorned by traditional “cartocci” (coloured arabesques) that frame the proud profiles of two paladins. The top is decorated with a stylised rosette, called “paparuni” in the dialect of the master cart painters.