Arturo Di Modica (1941 - 2021): Born Vittoria, Sicily

Born 1941 into occupied Sicily, as the second world war raged, from the start Arturo Di Modica was conditioned to fight . By  teenage years he had made the decision to become an artist but his father did not approve of his choice. In secret, the young Di Modica ran away from home, boarding a steam train destined for Florence to persue his future. Arriving penniless, he slept on the streets and made art with salvaged materials. With every hardship, his spirit of determination only grew and eventually some signs of success began to emerge. 

Fast forward to 1987, he had risen up and established himself in New York. Working from his 5-story SoHo studio he had constructed by hand. He drove a Ferrari and had some of the world's most important collectors chasing his work. On the 19th October, Black Monday struck the US stock markets and hard times ensued. Feeling indebted, the artist wanted to do something to inspire the American people to 'fight' through the hard times, for a better future. In this moment Charging Bull was conceived. Two years later, Di Modica arrived on Wall Street, during the dead of night, with Charging Bull on the back of a truck and proceed to drop it outside the NYSE, with no prior permission. The act landed him on front pages around the world and secured icon status for the Charging Bull sculpture. 

www.arturodimodica.com