Behind the Pages of CATS! – My Journey as Writer and Artist

✨ Honored and grateful to be part of this remarkable international project as both writer and artist — and as a member of the Editorial Board of the CATS! Art Book by the Barbagelata Contemporary Art Foundation.

My heartfelt thanks to the entire team, and especially to Allegra Barbagelata, Editor-in-Chief, for her inspiring vision and leadership.

It’s a true joy to see my essay “Of Thread and Shadow: The Cat as Guardian and Muse” open the book and exhibition, weaving together mythology, history, and the quiet presence of the feline as a creative muse.

Alongside it, my graphite works explore the cat as oracle — a silent co-creator at the threshold between intuition and form.

This collaboration has been a rare experience of artistic dialogue and editorial storytelling — where text and image meet in perfect symmetry. 🖤🐾

🌐 View the Online Exhibition
📖 Order the Luxury Print Edition

Deeply grateful to the Art Foundation for the opportunity to contribute both visually and textually to such a timeless, collective celebration.

CATS! – International Art Exhibition & Exclusive Publication Edition

In September 2025, my work was honored with inclusion in the CATS! International Art Exhibition & Art Book, curated and published by the Barbagelata Contemporary Art Foundation.

This project celebrates the feline not as mere subject, but as guardian, oracle, and co-creator of artistic mystery.

The exhibition launched online on September 20, 2025, followed by the release of the luxury print edition of the art book on September 30, 2025.

My Contribution

For this special publication, I created four graphite drawings, each exploring the feline as a liminal figure — silent witness, protector of the unseen, and myth-weaver across cultures and time:

• She Who Sees Beyond
• The Oracle of Unwritten Time
• The Scribe of Forgotten Kingdoms
• The Watcher of Every Stroke

Alongside the artworks, my essay “Of Thread and Shadow: The Cat as Guardian and Muse” opens the book and weaves throughout the exhibition. It traces the presence of cats in mythology, art history, and personal encounters — from Ancient Egypt and Greece to the intimate theatre of the artist’s studio.

Why Cats?

The feline figure has always carried symbolic resonance — autonomous, watchful, and mysterious. These works reflect on that liminal presence not as domesticated companions, but as guardians of silence, intuition, and memory.

Explore the Exhibition

🌐 View the Online Exhibition
📖 Order the Luxury Print Edition

I am deeply grateful to the Barbagelata Contemporary Art Foundation for the opportunity to contribute both visually and textually to such a timeless, collective celebration.

Summerverse – A Visual Journey through Myth, Memory & the Sea |Published in Art Magazine – Summer Issue 2025 | Barbagelata Contemporary Art Foundation

I am deeply honored to have opened the Summer Issue 2025 of Art Magazine by the Barbagelata Contemporary Art Foundation as the inaugural essayist and featured artist.

From my collection The Seasons – Special Edition, four of my works were featured:
Silent Observer, Voyager, Insider, and Summerverse — each a poetic visual exploration of summer, not merely as a season, but as a metaphysical space where journeys unfold across both sea and soul.

This body of work is a surreal journey through myth, memory, and inner transformation.

Artwork Highlights

Summerverse
A surreal journey through a golden, sunlit realm where time dissolves and meaning drifts like tides. Surrounded by compasses, koi, pearls, and vintage echoes, the central figure becomes both map and myth — a silent guide through the vast, introspective universe of summer.

Insider
Deep within the ocean’s heart, where marble-like sea stars and shells coexist, koi fish camouflage and meditate in stillness. Hourglasses measure time destined to ruin and rebuild, while sandcastles await their cycle. Sea cacti and mysterious black shells surround secrets of the deep — waiting to surface when the moment is right.

Voyager
A dreamlike exploration where closed eyes awaken deeper senses, attuned to the whispers of the sea. Sandcastles rise like fleeting dreams. An old camera captures ephemeral moments, vintage suitcases brim with secrets, and ocean treasures narrate a journey’s end — one shaped by longing, memory, and the quiet magic of discovery.

Silent Observer
An ethereal figure emerges from the ocean’s depths, surrounded by seashells, starfish, and delicate floral textures. Her gaze is calm yet searching — listening to silent whispers of a forgotten world. A nautical map behind her suggests both external voyage and intimate introspection.
In this still moment, memory, myth, and water become one.

A Personal Reflection: The Seasons Collection

The Seasons – Special Edition is a deeply personal exploration of life’s transitions through a feminine and symbolic lens. The portraits embody the strength, wisdom, and mystery of womanhood. By layering natural elements with vintage textures, I evoke both timelessness and nostalgia, inviting viewers to reflect on the cycles of life.

Each piece captures not only the external beauty of a season, but also the internal evolution that mirrors it — the invisible tides that shape our becoming.

A Note of Gratitude

My deepest thanks to the Barbagelata Foundation team, especially Editor-in-Chief Allegra Barbagelata, for their unwavering support and curatorial vision. This issue reminds us how beauty, dialogue, and renewal remain possible — even in turbulent times.

🌐 Explore More:

🔗 Full Magazine (Order Print): peecho.com/print/en/1962987
🔗 My Art Series: www.annitaplatis.com