DIAGONALI: the travelling exhibition that embraces sustainability
The diagonals in PENCIL/DRAWING/COVER/TREE/PENCIL are the focus of the project DIAGONALI, the exhibition devoted to the art of drawing and sustainability that is taking the works of Andrea Serio on a tour of Italy – until the end of 2024.
The exhibition display revolves around pencil drawing, the artist's signature technique, and respect towards the environment – especially trees: without them, we could not have pencils and paper to draw.
Each leg of the exhibition takes a different shape: the works on display are not always the same even though they are all original illustrations and preparatory drawings and study materials are also on display. Moreover, the exhibition features books, magazines, and LPs that reproduce the exhibited illustration on their cover. The stand used to display the books has been created with the wood recovered from the VAIA storm.
In the circular path that goes from the pencil to the tree and from the tree back to the pencil, sustainability is the key that transforms a diagonal into a curved line.
The need to protect the environment becomes an important element of the narration of DIAGONALI and a practical example of the concept of the circular economy based on sustainability, which translates into a tangible action: 5% of the contributions received for the exhibition are donated to projects for the environment, such as the reforestation project of VAIA Wood, the association devoted to planting 100,000 trees in the Dolomites, where the 2018 storm hit.
Burgo Selena Green: circularity to embrace sustainability
Even the materials for the setup and managing of the events meet the criteria of sustainability: in the circular flow of these diagonals, Burgo Group has welcomed the initiative and adhered to its corporate principles aimed at protecting the environment by providing the fitting paper for the exhibition catalogue.
The DIAGONALI catalogue is printed on Selena Green, the natural woodfree graphic paper perfect for art and luxury books, FSC® and Ecolabel certified, in a weight of 140 g/m².
An exhibition on the road: from spring 2023 to the end of 2024
The stages of the journey are selected to specifically endorse the areas bordering large city centres: the DIAGONALI exhibition began its travels in the spring of 2023 with the plan to continue until the end of 2024.
The places and dates of the exhibition are in progress and include:
• Torino – Graphic Days
• Lugo di Romagna (RA) – Lugocontemporanea
• Brescia – Spazio Arte Duina
• Bassano del Grappa (VI) – MBA Musei Biblioteca Archivio
• Alba (AT) – Centro Studi Beppe Fenoglio
• Bologna
• Aosta
• Trieste
• Pescara – Galleria Ceravento
• Napoli
From 6 to 23 July, the DIAGONALI exhibition is at the Rocca Estense in Lugo di Romagna as part of the Lugocontemporanea festival. On this occasion, the proceeds from the sale of the catalogue will be donated to help the Emilia-Romagna region recover from the recent floods and for the production of this edition of Lugocontemporanea.
Andrea Serio
Internationally renowned illustrator devoted to the colour pencil technique, Andrea Serio is a lecturer at the International School of Comics in Turin and Florence, and since 2021 he has held the position of artistic director of the Turin headquarters. His drawings have been exhibited on numerous occasions, in Italy and abroad, receiving awards and prizes. Artribune named him the best illustrator of 2022 and in the same year he won the Boscarato award for the best cover in the TCBF – Treviso Comics Book Festival.
He teamed with Burgo Group and Riccardo Facinelli to work on the creation of the Burgo Calendar 2023 and Cartaceo#04, the project conceived by Burgo Group in collaboration with Associazione Illustri and ArtsFor to celebrate paper as the meeting place between word and image.
The words of Riccardo Falcinelli and the illustrations of Andrea Serio pay homage to an ancient and modern act: taking notes, a key action to exploring the contemporary.
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