EXHIBITION REVIEW
Italiani by Salvatore Catalano
October 01 – 30, 2025
Palazzo Velli, Rome

NYC Culture Club is pleased to share the amazing success of the opening of the solo exhibition ITALIANI by the American artist of Italian heritage Salvatore Catalano, curated by Clayton Calvert, in Rome at the splendid Palazzo Velli in Trastevere. Organised in collaboration with ITSLIQUID Group and sponsored by Goldman Sachs Gives, the opening night attracted an impressive audience, with numerous cultural figures, collectors, and art enthusiasts filling the halls of the historic venue.

Click here to read more about the press release
Click here to see the photo full reportage

The atmosphere was vibrant and emotional from the very start: guests gathered around Catalano‘s portraits, admiring the meticulous details and expressive power that define his work, and the artist spent the evening engaging warmly with visitors, signing exhibition catalogues and sharing stories behind the faces he has so carefully immortalised. His connection with the public was immediate and genuine, reflecting the humanistic spirit that lies at the heart of ITALIANI.

Before the doors opened to the public, curator Clayton Calvert conducted an in-depth interview with Salvatore Catalano, joined by architect Luca Curci, Founder and CEO of ITSLIQUID Group. The conversation captured the artist’s reflections on his creative process, his Italian roots, and the years of research that shaped this monumental body of work. Their exchange offered guests a rare insight into the emotional and intellectual journey behind the portraits.

Now open until October 30, 2025, the exhibition continues to draw a steady flow of visitors. Through over sixty portraits, Catalano celebrates the lives and legacies of Italians who have shaped global culture – from Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Raphael to Sophia Loren, Andrea Bocelli, Federico Fellini, and Giorgia Meloni, alongside pioneering women such as Margherita Hack, Rita Levi Montalcini, Oriana Fallaci, and Maria Montessori.

Combining classical precision with a contemporary sensibility, Catalano‘s art transforms portraiture into a reflection on memory, identity, and legacy. As the exhibition continues to captivate audiences, ITALIANI affirms itself as a moving tribute to the people and stories that define Italy’s enduring spirit of creativity and excellence.

curator Clayton Calvert
organized by NYC Culture Club
exhibition management & press office ITSLIQUID Group
sponsor Goldman Sachs Gives

VENUE
Palazzo Velli
Piazza di S. Egidio n. 10, Rome
Opening hours | Tuesday – Sunday . 10:00 AM – 01:00 PM & 03:00 PM – 07:00 PM

---

SALVATORE CATALANO – BIOGRAPHY
Salvatore Catalano is an American artist, illustrator, and educator whose career spans multiple disciplines in visual communication. His work has appeared on postage stamps to billboards, and is held in numerous private and corporate collections. Over the years, he has collaborated with major clients including the United Nations, ABC, CBS, NBC, the Smithsonian Institution, Pfizer, Coca-Cola, and Dell. His illustrations have been featured in publications such as The New York Times, The New Yorker, Reader’s Digest, and more than thirty books for children.

Catalano has also worked extensively in academia, teaching at the college level in both New York City and Florence, Italy. Renowned for his emotionally resonant portraiture, he has created more than four hundred portraits of individuals recognised for their achievements in the arts, sciences, literature, and public life. Blending classical technique with contemporary insight, his work reflects a lifelong exploration of heritage, identity, and cultural legacy.

ABOUT CLAYTON CALVERT
Clayton Calvert is a painter, sculptor, video, and installation artist as well as a curator. He is an artist in residence at The World Trade Center in New York City. Calvert studied with renowned painters Carlo Maria Mariani and John Foote as well as with esteemed sculptor Thomas Lollar. Calvert’s various projects have led to exhibitions around the world both as an artist and a curator, and his work can be found in numerous private as well as corporate collections. He recently curated Carlo Maria Mariani. Arte oltre il tempo (Carlo Maria Mariani. Art Beyond Time) at Galleria degli Uffizi, Palazzo Pitti in Firenze in 2024.

ABOUT NYC CULTURE CLUB
The NYC Culture Club is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organisation that offers exhibition opportunities for curators and artists, free of charge and commission. All shows are free and open to the public. Since opening in June of 2021, NYC Culture Club has welcomed over 200,000 visitors to 44 exhibitions featuring over 500 artists, 40 curators, and 9 nonprofit partners. We have hosted campaigns on every digital display at the WTC, as well as public art displays on the campus of the World Trade Centre in collaboration with the Port Authority of NY & NJ. The NYC Culture Club was started by brothers Parker and Clayton Calvert.

ABOUT PALAZZO VELLI
Palazzo Velli is a XIV century cultural space nestled in the heart of Trastevere, Rome, designed as a place that blends art and emotion. Its historic architecture and vibrant energy create the perfect setting for exhibitions, performances, and creative events. Located in Piazza Sant’Egidio, a lively crossroads for thousands of visitors each day, the venue reflects the multicultural spirit of the neighbourhood, which balances tradition with constant renewal. Inspired by the artistic scenes of major European capitals, Palazzo Velli hosts refined projects by both emerging and established artists.

Equipped with cutting-edge technology, the space supports a wide range of events, from art shows and photography to cinema, theatre, music, and literary presentations. More than just a venue, Palazzo Velli is a living expression of Trastevere’s identity – dynamic, inclusive, and deeply rooted in cultural heritage.

ABOUT ITSLIQUID GROUP
ITSLIQUID is a web-based information platform, founded in 2001 by Luca Curci, dedicated to the worldwide distribution of information about calls for entries, exhibitions and events at some of the world’s leading art galleries, museums and foundations. ITSLIQUID has already built a readership of more than 300.000 qualified subscribers. Among them are architects, designers, artists, collectors, art critics, curators, dealers, and other personalities of the International art, architecture and design world. It provides advertising services, press office services for events and projects, articles and specials published on the website, and media partnership services.

During the last 20 years, ITSLIQUID Group has become a cultural hub between creatives, exhibition spaces and art lovers. Among our international partners, Art Now Fair, Art Vancouver, Design Tokyo, INDEX Qatar, INDEX Saudi, The Big 5 Construct Dubai, The Big 5 Construct Qatar, Photo LA Los Angeles and international magazines like Art Style. ITSLIQUID Group supports some of the most important non-profit organizations, like UNFCCC – United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, SSCS – Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, One Tree Planted, The Ocean CleanUp and Plastic Oceans, with the goal to increase public awareness about environmental issues. Click here to find out more.

ITSLIQUID GROUP includes a section dedicated to the organization of international art events, managing exhibitions of painting, photography, video art, installation and performance; it organizes solo and collective shows, art residencies and international contests. Its object is to use new technologies to globalize the language of art, and to connect artists working in every part of the world.

ITSLIQUID Group manages a variety of art spaces all over the world; among them Palazzo Albrizzi-Capello in Venice and different historical buildings, ELEMENTS Contemporary Art Space in the London city centre and other different partners worldwide. Since 2001, ITSLIQUID Group has organized over 350 international events, engaging more than 10,000 artists across over 60 global venues. Its initiatives have featured prestigious museums like the CCCB – Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona in Spain, the NCCA – National Center for Contemporary Arts in Moscow, the MuMo – Museum Montanelli in Prague, and at the MUST Museum in Lecce, in addition to numerous galleries and private foundations. Thanks to its partnership with Sedition, ITSLIQUID has presented masters such as Bill Viola and Refik Anadol, offering high-level opportunities for young, mid-career, and renowned artists.

ITSLIQUID is based on fluidity, motion, connection and accessibility. Making things easy to do. Welcome.