BY MARK ANDERSON

An Italian artist’s deeply personal and unflinching body of work is drawing attention for its stark portrayal of modern disillusionment and its unusual, singular goal: to fund the construction of a self-sustaining refuge from contemporary society.

Nicola Vacca, born in 1986, has spent much of his life searching for direction across more than 20 professions, a journey marked by instability, physical setbacks, and an enduring sense of dissatisfaction with the modern world. Now, in 2026, that search has culminated in a new series of acrylic paintings titled “Road to the Castle – The Ecosustainable Castle.”

Each piece in the series features a constant focal point: a castle rendered in a consistent form, surrounded by ever-changing environments that range from natural seasonal landscapes to surreal, even alien settings.

The repetition is deliberate. According to Vacca’s stated intent, the castle represents a protected inner world—an idealized sanctuary against what he perceives as the psychological and cultural turbulence of the 21st century.

Vacca’s artistic trajectory has been anything but conventional. Raised with an early exposure to art through his father, a self-taught painter and sculptor, he developed creative instincts from childhood.

He later taught himself to play bass guitar and, in 2015, attempted to relocate to London to pursue an artistic career. That effort ended abruptly after work-related injuries to his left hand halted his plans.

During the global lockdowns of 2020, Vacca turned to wood carving, producing a series of sculptures that further developed his visual language. Two years later, he entered academia, studying History and Philosophy at the University of Trieste before transitioning to Archaeology studies in Padua.

Despite maintaining a strong academic record, he ultimately abandoned this path mid-course, concluding it did not align with his personal goals.

The recurring theme across Vacca’s work is a profound discomfort with what he describes as a socio-cultural rupture beginning in the early 2000s—marked by the rise of the internet and smartphones as dominant forces in daily life. This tension manifests in his art as both frustration and resistance, expressed through symbolic imagery and stark contrasts between the castle and its surroundings.

Stylistically, his paintings draw from a folk-art tradition reminiscent of Maud Lewis, favoring accessibility over abstraction. Yet beneath this simplicity lies a philosophical undercurrent: the repeated castle motif invites viewers to consider how they defend their own mental and emotional boundaries in an increasingly chaotic world.

Despite years of creative output, Vacca has yet to achieve financial stability through his art. The “Ecosustainable Castle” series, however, is explicitly tied to a tangible ambition. The artist has stated that the works are intended to raise funds to build a real-world version of the castle he depicts—a self-sufficient environment that would allow him to withdraw from the societal structures he finds increasingly intolerable.

Whether this goal is achievable remains uncertain. What is clear is that Vacca’s work represents a rare convergence of personal struggle, philosophical inquiry, and artistic persistence—offering a vivid, if unsettling, reflection of one individual’s response to the pressures of modern life.

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