The exhibition, curated by Giovanna Durì and brought to Bologna in occasion of BilBOlbul, will be the chance to see a selection of more than a hundred original pieces among posters, drawings, Comics boards for short stories and for already published books. In this manner it will be possible to identify a dazed universe which has its own specific and personal pillars in music, in travel seen as research, and in the depiction of marginal levels of society. The vigour of Mattotti’s art is evident in his capacity to portray particular people characterised by a strong humanity, all filtered through an ironic gaze which is always able to devise forms and figures out of an expression or a movement. All of Mattotti’s figures demand a deep compassion to the reader, in the literal sense of a strong participation to their own fates.

Starting from his works exposed in the exhibition, Lorenzo Mattotti will discuss about the beginning of his career, recalling initial hopes, doubts and the cultural contest of that time. For it will be a useful confrontation moment for a public which will be composed mostly by young students of the Accademia di Belle Arti.

Lorenzo Mattotti meets the students of Liceo Musicale Lucio Dalla and the ones of Liceo Artistico Arcangeli to dialogue on the importance that music has for him in the creation of the atmospheres and the visions he devises in his stories.

Mattotti’s work has always been placed side by side with music. As the author himself said, music has always been a huge passion for him, as it is evident from his early realisation of posters for concerts of some of his friends, or from his collaboration with Lou Reed for The Raven. However, besides Mattotti’s explicit references to music, there is a more subtle and deep influence which is exerted by music on the entire compositional system of his work and which is evident in the atmospheres he sketches down in his creations. Therefore, it is meaningful that Mattotti is eventually the author who is been employed by BilBOlbul and Bologna Jazz Festival for the realisation of the original presentation images of the main concerts of the 2017 edition of the music festival. This collaboration originated two exhibitions scattered around the city: the Jazz Buses, which will be travelling across Bologna for three months, and a series of posters that will be affixed in the city centre, thanks to the collaboration with Cheap on Board. The project is realised in collaboration with Tper and supported by Gruppo Hera.

Lorenzo Mattotti is considered one of the most important illustrators in the world. He was born in Brescia in 1954, and he started his career in the Seventies, when he produced his first stories. In 1976 he illustrated Huckleberry Finn, through which he achieved the attention of audiance and critics. He starts in this period to collaborate with Linus. In the early Eighties he founded the Valvoline group together with Carpinteri, Igort and Jori. In 1983 Doctor Nefasto is released. That was the first of a series of collaborations with the screenwriter Jerry Kramsky. In 1984, the release of Fuochi is acclaimed as a revolutionary and historical moment into Comics environment. He also draw many covers for The New Yorker and Le Monde.