Appraising the Italian Futurist polymath's multimedia career and boundless influence across design, art and theater
The word "new" in the title of this volume celebrates the Italian Futurist artist Fortunato Depero's (1892-1960) knack for innovation, as well as the influence he offered both to designers such as Ettore Sottsass and Alessandro Mendinin and to the New Futurist artists--Gianantonio Abate, Innocente, Marco Lodola, Umberto Postal and Plumcake--who fuse Futurism, Pop art and kitsch. Depero's influence is also manifest in the works of artists Ugo Nespolo and Matteo Thun, who have modeled their illustrations for Campari after Depero's own advertisements for the company, as well as in the avant-garde comics of Echaurren, Giacon and Carpinteri, who have appropriated many Deperian features. In the 2000s, films and videos about the artist proliferated, often centering on his extraordinary life--recent productions include
Il sogno di Alberto
(2011),
Depero, Rovereto, New York e altre storie
(2015) and
New York film vissuto
(2020). All were made possible by the Depero collection's thoroughly maintained archives.
Accompanying an exhibition at Mart Roverto in Italy, this publication highlights the breadth and depth of Depero's influence, as materialized in his paintings, drawings, furnishings, objects, posters, photographs, books, magazines and films, among other mediums.