Exhibition Series · 2024

refugee

A Show About Humanity

The compelling exhibit captures the emotional depth and raw truth of displacement, survival and hope. Through striking imagery and powerful storytelling, six embellished paintings invite viewers into the desperate world of people who must leave their homes in search of safety.

In 6′ × 5′ canvases, we see their determination, their hardship, their loss, their deliverance, their hope, and, finally, their faith’s reward. The works are inspired by the 8.8 million refugees who dared the harrowing journey in crowded, makeshift boats from camps in North Africa across the Mediterranean.

With this series, Fratangelo deepens his emotional exploration of displacement, following his Iraq: Paintings of War series, displayed with distinction at the 2005 Florence Biennale.

Premiere

July 2024
Atithi Studios
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Works

Six paintings
6′ × 5′ each

Medium

Acrylic, latex, and
glitter on canvas

Inspired by

8.8 million refugees
Mediterranean crossing

“Each portrait reminds the viewer that the refugee’s struggle, however distant, remains part of our human condition.”

— Michael Fratangelo

01 / 06

Painting image coming soon

Reference photograph

Documentary reference photograph

Hosanna

6′ × 5′ \u00B7 Glitter, acrylic & latex on canvas

About this work

A family on a makeshift cart moving across a vast dry plain. The word Hosanna, a cry of praise and longing, frames a scene of precarious motion toward an uncertain destination.

02 / 06

Painting image coming soon

Reference photograph

Documentary reference photograph

Exodus

6′ × 5′ \u00B7 Acrylic & latex on canvas

About this work

Hundreds of people packed onto a single wooden boat crossing open water. One figure stands with arms raised — a vessel that was never meant to carry this much hope.

03 / 06

Painting image coming soon

Reference photograph

Documentary reference photograph

Resiliency

6′ × 5′ \u00B7 Acrylic & latex on canvas

About this work

An overloaded vessel tilts dangerously. People cling to the hull, some swimming beside it. A testament to the will to survive against impossible odds.

04 / 06

Painting image coming soon

Reference photograph

Documentary reference photograph

Reflection

6′ × 5′ \u00B7 Glitter, acrylic & latex on canvas

About this work

Faces pressed together in a small boat. Eyes look directly into the lens — a moment of contact between the witnessed and the witness. These are not statistics. These are people.

05 / 06

Painting image coming soon

Reference photograph

Documentary reference photograph

Hand of God

6′ × 5′ \u00B7 Acrylic & latex on canvas

About this work

People reaching across the gap between a boat and solid ground — hands extended, bodies straining. The moment of crossing, suspended and divine.

06 / 06

Painting image coming soon

Reference photograph

Documentary reference photograph

Encampment

6′ × 5′ \u00B7 Acrylic & latex on canvas

About this work

A field of makeshift shelters stretching to the horizon. A city built from nothing by people with nowhere else to go. The encampment as both ending and beginning.