At the Fondazione Sozzani, at Corso Como 10 first floor, until March 27, 2022, continues the exhibition “Hyperillustrations” by François Berthoud, collaborating with Bulgari. Four decades of fashion are illustrated with the unmistakable stroke of one of the most famous contemporary illustrators. The anthological exhibition brings together more than one hundred works, from the early Eighties until 2022. Berthoud tells stories and scripts without words. Some of his portraits show an intensity sparkling off the page, as if animated by a will of their own. “With physical experimentation and aesthetic ready-made at the core of his graphic work, Berthoud takes fashion to its artistic and cultural extremes,” writes Chris Dercon, Director of the Grand Palais in Paris, in his essay.”
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Famous silohuettes
Trained in Switzerland at the art school in La Chaux-de-Fonds, and later at the graphic design school in Lausanne, François Berthoud began working in comics at a very young age with ironic tales and exotic fantasies. He worked with a small group of Italian illustrators close to the avant-garde of the visual arts, such as Lorenzo Mattotti, Tanino Liberatori, Igort, Stefano Tamburini, involved with cult magazines such as Linus, Alter Alter, and Frigidaire. Influenced by Japanese xylography, Berthoud often uses linocut. With linoleum plates, he can obtain prints almost in relief, as in the excellent engravings from cherry wood boards. He gets that “bold” stroke with very dense oil-based typographic inks, which defines many of his famous silhouettes.
Fashion, music and art
Working for The New Yorker, The New York Times, Visionnaire, Interview, Numéro, and Vogue, Berthoud was soon confronted with auteur fashion illustration, represented by Mats Gustafson, Gladys Perint Palmer, and Ruben Toledo. Since then, many graphic campaigns will be designed for the big names in fashion, such as Jean-Paul Gaultier, Yves Saint Laurent, Viktor & Rolf, Chanel, Givenchy, Armani, Martin Margiela, Dolce & Gabbana, Hermés, Prada, and Capucci. But music and opera also belong to Berthoud, who has been curating the posters for the twelve annual productions of Zurich Opernhaus, since 2012. Realized in collaboration with Bulgari, the exhibition “Hyperillustrations” is part of the artistic and cultural journey that Bulgari dedicates to the city of Milan. The selection of about twenty works by François Berthoud includes the recent “History of the Bulgari Serpenti,” specially created for the Bulgari space. FondazioneSozzani.org
François Berthaud, Hyperillustration
Fondazione Sozzani, Corso Como 10, Milan
Until March, 27, 2022
