Marco Urso

Marck Art (pen name of Marco Urso) was born in Palermo on August 2, 1982, and grew up in Favara, a town near Agrigento, where he still lives and works. Marck’s childhood was troubled, due to some health issues he had suffered since his birth, which made his schooling complex. A child prodigy, devoted to the study of music composition and piano, he enrolled at the Conservatory of Palermo. In 2006, after being seized by a transient cardiac arrest, he went into a deep coma, from which he emerged a transformed man: he quit studying piano and began a new life as a painter, following the path that his ‘Guardian Angel Matteo’ suggested to him before he woke up from the coma. While he was still at the S.S. Oasi di Troina hospital, he sketched his first painting, titled La Scarpa (‘The Shoe’). Twelve months later, he undertook an irrepressible painting frenzy. In 2007, he finished Curatevi (‘Cure yourselves’), a large canvas measuring 300 x 165 cm. Seized by a sort of bulimic and spiritual desire to totally commit himself to art, he produced many works inspired by his mystical experience, like the Claustrofobia del cuore (‘Claustrophobia of the Heart’), and La Porta del destino (‘The Gate of Destiny’) representing one of his nocturnal visions. In 2009, he painted L’Annunciazione (‘The Annunciation’), in which he depicted four members of a well-known Venetian family whom he did not know nor had ever seen in reality, enriching their portraits with some clairvoyant details. The same year Marck painted his self-portrait, one of his most incredible works, highlighting all his expressive charge and introspective pictorial charisma. The themes of illness, suffering and healing can be found in his very first paintings, which are dominated by strong colours and inspired by the Sicilian countryside. His works are featured in various art catalogues, and have been described in writings by critics such as Gaspare Agnello, Tanino Bonifacio, Lorenzo Canova, Chiara Modìca Donà Dalle Rose, Claudio Rizzi and Vittorio Sgarbi. From 2019 to 2021 Marck experienced an exciting collaboration with one of Italy’s most important TV channels, Rai 1, participating in 45 shows of Una Mattina in Famiglia (‘A morning among family members’), each time painting a new and original work. One of his paintings was exhibited at the Rotary Club of Dubai. But his big breakthrough came in July 2021 when the biographical book on his life - written by journalist Carmelo Sardo - was published. The book, titled L’arte della salvezza (‘The Art of Salvation’), tells about the magical and exciting story of how Marco Urso became Marck Art. In 2023 he had the honour of having a solo exhibition hosted at the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian parliament. A few months later, his paintings were displayed at the Italian Cultural Institute in New York, as well as in an exhibition curated by his supporter and collector Grace Hightower De Niro.

Reasons for assigning the Award

The awardee’s life is the fairy tale of a simple and goodhearted boy, and was masterfully narrated by journalist Carmelo Sardo in his book “The Art of Salvation. The Fabulous story of Marck Art”. It was his grandmother Luzza who understood - but only when Marco was already a young child - that something was wrong with his hearing, when a phone rang but Marco did not make a fuss. So he was taken to a medical check-up and his life finally changed thanks to a hearing aid. However, although he could now hear, his speech was compromised. Nonetheless, he could now open up to the outside world. It was again his wonderful grandmother who had a marvellous piano delivered to Marco’s house, and the boy started to play it almost immediately with admirable gift. After a traumatic event, Marco decided to no longer be a pianist but rather a painter and asked his father to buy him a canvas and colours. This is how art saved him and has given us a talented artist. The Vissi d’Arte - Città di Alcamo International Prize for Culture has been bestowed on Marco Urso, or ‘Marck Art’, also known as the ‘painter of angels’. Not only for his high artistic merits and undisputed value, but also because he was capable of overcoming the crises induced by being a marginalized and bullied boy, and has gently transformed himself into an internationally renowned artist.