COLOR WORDS

Visiting Exhibition of the 50^th Golden Pen of Belgrade – 15^th International Biennial of Illustration

Opening of the Exhibition: Friday, 8 November 2019 at 19:00

The exhibition was opened by: Iva Leković, curator of the 50^th Golden Pen of Belgrade, in the presence of the author of the exhibition.

Coordinating Curator of the Exhibition: Slobodan Jovanović, Senior Curator, MAA

Organizers: The Association of Artists of Applied Arts and Designers of Serbia (ULUPUDS) and the Italian Institute of Culture in Belgrade

SHOUT is an uncommon alias for Alessandro Gottardo, adopted as his nom de crayon. Frankly, it seems counterintuitive, the total opposite of the way his art looks and feels. His illustrations do not shout at all, in fact they quietly whisper. Which is not to say they are entirely subdued, but just refined and meticulous.

As if to underscore his chosen moniker, SHOUT’s graphic voice is more resonant than many illustrators today. Its strength is drawn from the modernist belief that less is more (more or less). So, as you experience this book, what you will notice are visual statements not made with a hard fist but with soft expressive hands.

By Steven Heller

Alessandro Gottardo (alias SHOUT) was born in Pordenone, Italy, in 1977. He graduated from the Department of Illustration of the European Design Institute in Milan. He actively collaborated with various Italian and international publishers and other clients including: The New Yorker, TIME magazine, Newsweek, Saturday Evening Post, Le Monde, New York Times, Die Zeit, El Pais, Espresso, Einaudi, Coca Cola, American Express, Volkswagen, Lloyds of London, Penguin Random House, Little Brown, Simon & Shuster. His works received numerous awards including four Gold and three Silver Medals from the Society of Illustrators in New York, the Gold Medal from the Society of Publication Designers, the D&AD Graphite Pencil, and the Bronze Lion from Cannes. His solo exhibitions were displayed in Los Angeles, London, Montreal and several Italian cities, including the retrospective exhibition at Palazzo Chiericati in Vicenza in 2014. His works were published by Taschen in their anthology book “100 Illustrators”, and by Laurence King Publishing in their anthology book “Fifty Years of Illustrations”. Two monographs have been published so far: “Mono Shout” (279 Editions, Milan, 2010) and “On Shout” (279 Editions, Milan, 2014).

Author of the photographs: Anamarija Vartabedijan