Rating and value of Bruno Catalano's sculptures, bronzes and statuettes

If you own a work by or after Bruno Catalano, and would like to know its value, our state-approved experts and auctioneers will offer you their appraisal services.

Our specialists will carry out a free appraisal of your work, and provide you with a precise estimate of its value on the current market.

Then, if you wish to sell your work, we will direct you to the best possible arrangement to obtain the optimum price.

Rating and value of Bruno Catalano's works   

Bruno Catalano has produced some unique sculptures. Now, prices for these creations can rise considerably under the auctioneer's hammer. His sculptures are particularly prized, by buyers from all over the world.

The price at which they sell on the art market ranges between €6,800 and €70,000, at the moment, a substantial gap but one that says a lot about the value that can be attributed to Catalano's works.

In 2016, his bronze sculpture Le voyageur sold for €70,000, originally estimated at between €50,000 and €60,000.

Order of value from a simple work to the most prestigious

Style and technique of artist Bruno Catalano   

Bruno Catalano is a contemporary sculptor who works mainly with bronze. The sculptures that sell on the auction market do not exceed one meter, he has however created a few monumental works for public commissions.

The career of Bruno Catalano

Bruno Catalano, born in 1960 in Morocco to a family of Sicilian origin, is a contemporary sculptor whose work is part of a unique artistic approach deeply marked by his life's journey.

In 1970, he left Morocco with his family to settle in France, a move which, unbeknownst to him at the time, prefigured the central theme of his work: travel and migration. Upon his arrival, he joined the Société Nationale Corse-Méditerranée, where he worked for four years.

Although this period was marked by his daily life as a sailor, it was at this time that he began to nurture a growing interest in sculpture, a passion that would continue to grow.

It was in Marseille, a city open to the sea and the world, that he found his first artistic inspiration. He took classes with Françoise Hamel, a renowned artist, and was introduced to the fundamental techniques of sculpture.

Two years after beginning his apprenticeship, Catalano opened his own studio, a decisive turning point in his career. In this creative space, he installed a kiln where he produced his first works in clay. At that time, bronze, the material that would make him famous, was not yet at the heart of his practice.

It was only later that he adopted bronze, a material that would become the media par excellence for expressing his artistic vision. This transition to bronze sculpture was not without a few technical mishaps.

In fact, it was during one of his first attempts that an unexpected flaw appeared in one of his works. Far from dismissing this incident, Catalano sees it as a creative opportunity. This flaw, this absence in the material, was to become his artistic signature.

He then decided to reproduce and refine this technique, giving rise to fragmented characters, as if torn apart by the ordeal of travel or exile.

The Voyageurs series is certainly the most famous culmination of this approach. These sculptures, with their partially empty bodies, evoke absence, loss and the quest for identity.

In 2013, Marseille, his adopted city, hosted a landmark exhibition: on the Vieux-Port, ten of his Voyageurs were installed.

This event causes a sensation, and the public is captivated by these enigmatic silhouettes that seem to float between two worlds, wonderfully symbolizing the spirit of travel, passage, and memory.

Backstage at Catalano's workshop

Focus on the Voyageur series, Bruno Catalano

Bruno Catalano, with this intriguing sculpture, takes us on a very special journey. This bronze man, partially obliterated at his center, seems to have stepped straight out of a dream or a hazy memory.

He holds his travel bag in one hand, looking a little lost, as if he's getting ready to leave, but without really knowing where he's going. This emptiness in the middle of his body immediately catches the eye and seems to tell us something profound about absence, distance, or perhaps the quest for oneself.

Catalano plays here with the idea of the traveler, a central theme in his work, where we guess that what is missing is just as important as what is present.

Catalano's work is part of a long tradition of sculptors using bronze, a noble and solid material. One thinks of artists such as César Baldaccini, who also upset expectations around bronze, notably with his famous "Compressions".

Where César compacted cars and metal objects to reduce them to their essentials, Catalano does something different: he removes part of the human body, creating a void that prompts reflection. This contrast between the solidity of bronze and the physical absence at the center of the figure is striking.

Other twentieth-century sculptors also explored themes close to this absence. Take Giacometti, for example, with his elongated, fragile figures.

Although his style is very different, there is in the works of Giacometti a similar quest to understand the essence of the human being, to reduce it to what is essential.

Catalano, on the other hand, does not seek to elongate or deform the figure, but to fragment it, to render it incomplete, as if part of the traveler's story had been lost along the way.

The realism in the figure's details - his crumpled clothes, his worn shoes - makes the sculpture's central emptiness even more striking.

We can clearly see that this man is someone real, and yet he is incomplete. It's as if the artist wanted to remind us that every journey changes us, that it takes us and leaves us with fragments of ourselves.

This play between presence and absence also recalls the work of Auguste Rodin, who also liked to work with incomplete figures to express strong emotions. With Rodin, the unfinished was a way of leaving room for the imaginary; with Catalano, it's a way of speaking of emptiness, of what's missing.

In place of geometric shapes, he plays with emptiness. What's absent in his figures is just as important as what's there, and this creates a balance that calls out.

In short, this sculpture by Bruno Catalano is much more than a simple representation of a traveler. It's a work that speaks of lack, quest and identity, themes that resonate deeply with each and every one of us.

Through this bronze, the artist invites us to reflect on what we leave behind at each stage of our lives, and what we always take with us, even in absence.

The success of Bruno Catalano's sculptures  

The success of Bruno Catalano's sculptures has been growing ever since he unveiled his iconic Voyageurs series. Each of his pieces, characterized by these fragmented bodies and incomplete silhouettes, fascinates an ever-growing audience.

Over the course of his career, Catalano has evolved his sculptures in both form and motif, constantly refining his technique while retaining that unique signature: figures marked by absence and exile. These torn figures, seemingly suspended between two worlds, captivate with their innovative aesthetics and the message they convey.

Today, Bruno Catalano is a recognized and highly regarded artist, his works fetching substantial sums on the art market.

Yet they rarely make it to the auction room, such is their demand. Each sculpture, whether a small piece or a monumental work, arouses keen interest among collectors and contemporary art lovers.

Therefore, the best way to sell a Bruno Catalano sculpture is to present it on the auction market : this way, buyers are put in competition so that you get a top price.

His distinctive style and the depth of his work ensure Catalano an enduring place in the international artistic landscape, making him one of the most sought-after contemporary sculptors of his generation. 

Recognizing Bruno Catalano's signature  

Catalano doesn't always sign his works. If you think you own one, it's best to have it appraised.

Knowing the value of a work 

If you happen to own a Bruno Catalano creation, or think you might, don't hesitate to request a free appraisal using our form on our website.

A member of our team of experts and licensed auctioneers will contact you promptly to provide you with an estimate of the market value of your piece, not forgetting to send you ad hoc information about it.

If you wish to sell your property, you will also be accompanied by our specialists in order to benefit from alternatives to sell it at the best possible price, taking into account market inclinations.