Nicola Mastroserio does not chase trends. He does not cater to the art market’s hunger for commodification. Instead, he pursues something deeper—an exploration of reality that resists easy answers. His work is a meditation on existence, a quiet but persistent questioning of the nature of life, intelligence, and the unseen forces that shape our world. To encounter his art is to step into a space where symbols and forms transcend decoration. It is philosophy translated into image, gesture, and installation. Mastroserio searches not for novelty, but for essence—for what remains when distraction and superficiality are stripped away.
He invites us to pause, to reflect on what connects spirit and matter, what ties the individual to the collective, and what unites humanity across time and space. His art does not solve these mysteries. It holds them open, reminding us that to be human is to live inside the question.
The Universal Symbol of Life
At the heart of Mastroserio’s work is what he calls The Universal Symbol of Life. It is not just a motif or an emblem, but an idea—an attempt to capture the cardinal essence of existence. In his words, it is “the origin of all things,” a symbol that merges spirit and matter into one.
This symbol does not belong to an individual. It is a collective process, defined by peace, love, and brotherhood. It points beyond borders, beyond division, to the connection between heaven and earth, and between all people without distinction.
Mastroserio frames The Universal Symbol of Life as something born at the dawn of the third millennium, a process that should never stop, because it guarantees the life of all humanity. It is a vision of the planet and its creatures, a call to recognize ourselves as part of a cosmic race moving toward an imagined civilization. His words are not detached theory—they are a plea for humanity to embrace its shared future, to see that every life deserves to be loved and safeguarded.
This work blends utopian vision with spiritual reflection. It is not just about aesthetics. It is about responsibility, about the need to think of human survival not in isolation but as part of a collective whole.
Timeless
If The Universal Symbol of Life serves as a conceptual root, Mastroserio’s installation Timeless translates that philosophy into physical space. Standing seven meters tall, Timeless is conceived around the Universal Symbol, extending it into an environment that represents the cosmos itself.
The work is expressly spiritual. It depicts life as an eternal movement, manifesting in both material and immaterial forms. Mastroserio refers to this as “the mathematics of existence.” For him, existence is not chaos. It follows laws, patterns, and rhythms, even when they appear hidden.
Timeless brings together the classical elements—water, fire, earth, air, ether—into a unified vision. The piece suggests that life is continuous, beyond time, beyond condition. By physically surrounding the viewer, it reminds us that we are part of this flow, not outside it. In experiencing the installation, one senses both vastness and intimacy, the cosmos and the human life bound within it.
Cellulism
Beyond individual works, Mastroserio has articulated a theory of art and existence he calls Cellulism. This is not a style or movement in the conventional sense. It is, in his words, “the existential state of created things.”
Cellulism is elusive. It implies a state of flux, a capacity to create and undo matter according to mathematical rules. It seeks to interpret life and art as processes rather than static objects. In this way, Cellulism counters what Mastroserio sees as the social and cultural decadence of our time. It challenges the tendency to reduce art to commodity, insisting instead on art’s role as a tool for understanding being itself.
One example of Cellulism in practice is Criptomereus. The name suggests “hidden things,” and the painting embodies this idea. Layers of detail, dazzling chromatic structures, and a sense of majestic breath run through the canvas. The work suggests that matter itself is alive, always creating and dissolving, with human life diluted within this larger rhythm.
Art historian Aldo Maria Pero has described this quality as a kind of eternal creationism, where everything is born and dissolves endlessly. For the viewer, Criptomereus carries a warning: recognize the fragility of your own existence. Do not waste life on pettiness or selfishness, because what we hold as fixed is, in truth, passing.
Closing
Nicola Mastroserio’s art is neither decorative nor easy. It requires a willingness to enter into uncertainty, to wrestle with questions that may never be fully answered. Yet in doing so, it opens a space of possibility. His Universal Symbol of Life, Timeless, and the theory of Cellulism all point toward the same truth: that existence is interconnected, that human life is precious but fragile, and that art has the power to remind us of these realities when we are most at risk of forgetting.
Mastroserio’s work does not promise solutions. It offers reminders—symbols, installations, theories—that life itself is the work of art, and that to live it fully is to recognize its mystery.
