Mattia Guarnera-MacCarthy, a painter born and raised in South East London, draws from his Italian and Ghanaian

heritage to shape a distinct artistic perspective. His dual background informs a nuanced approach to navigating cultural,

social, and personal identities, fueling his exploration of themes like coexistence, duality, and the balance of opposing

forces. This perspective is reflected in his work, which has been exhibited globally at prestigious venues such as Frieze

Art Fair, the Royal Academy, Saatchi Gallery Art Fair, The Hole NYC, and Christie’s Late.

Guarnera-MacCarthy’s practice centers on the human condition, focusing on overlooked moments of everyday life. By

studying figures, textures, fabrics, and objects through digital mediums, he isolates fleeting visual moments,

romanticising the mundane. His work transforms ordinary scenes into catalysts for deeper reflection, challenging viewers

to reconsider their perceptions of modern life.

This “romanticising” is more than an aesthetic—it’s a philosophy. Inspired by Slavoj Žižek’s notion that “the path to love is

through trash,” Guarnera-MacCarthy embraces life’s chaos and imperfections, finding beauty in adversity. Personal

experiences, such as his leukemia diagnosis at 16 and the loss of his father to suicide, profoundly shaped his worldview.

Despite these hardships, he reflects on those years with a sense of resilience, conveying through his art that joy and pain

are inseparable aspects of the human experience.

A key aspect of his practice is the pursuit of what he calls “innate synchronicity,” influenced by Carl Jung’s concept of

synchronicity as life’s meaningful coincidences. Guarnera-MacCarthy views his creative process as following an intuitive

trail of allegorical imagery, connecting with the subconscious beyond language. His work is a collage of external

influences, inviting viewers to interpret layered meanings that transcend the surface.

Digital sources play a pivotal role in his art, serving as both inspiration and a form of collaboration with the “algorithmic

consciousness” that permeates contemporary life. This engagement reflects a “Post Digital” state—described by artist Oli

Epp—where the digital and physical worlds intersect seamlessly. Guarnera-MacCarthy’s primary medium, the airbrush,

enhances this post-digital aesthetic, emphasizing flatness and artificiality while evoking the distance of screen-based

interactions.

The airbrush, neither wholly contemporary nor traditional, embodies the dualities central to his philosophy. Its direct yet

soft effect mirrors the tension between the natural and artificial, reinforcing his broader exploration of coexistence and

liminality. Through this medium, Guarnera-MacCarthy invites viewers to reflect on how opposing ideas can harmonize,

offering a compelling meditation on the complexities of modern existence