USA – A “Cover Revolution!” hits the publishing world

A revolution is underway across Italian bookshops: in recent years, a wind of change has swept across the shelves where historical fiction collections used to be displayed. Many publishing houses asked a group of world-renowned Italian illustrators with a very original style to reinvent book covers. The Italian Cultural Institute in New York organised the exhibition “Cover Revolution!” with a view to illustrating this phenomenon, showcasing a selection of the most beautiful covers by Franco Matticchio, Lorenzo Mattotti, Emiliano Ponzi, Guido Scarabottolo, Gianluigi Toccafondo and Olimpia Zagnoli. Talented illustrators, they contributed to renovate the image of major Italian publishers emphasizing the evocative power of books, sometimes considered as classical masterpieces, through effective and innovative designs. “Cover Revolution!”, curated by Melania Gazzotti, opened on 29 September at 6:00 p.m. at the Italian Cultural Institute. The show will run until 26 October. A talk with illustrators Scarabottolo and Ponzi, moderated by Stefano Imbert ( Society of Illustrators), preceded the opening of the exhibition. Gazzotti also curated for Corraini Publishing House the exhibition catalogue,  “Cover Revolution! Illustrators and the New Face of Italian Publishing.” The exhibition is due to travel first to Milan, where it will open at Laboratorio Formentini on 9 November. It will then proceed to Dublin, where it will be hosted by the Italian Cultural Institute.