Orio Galli, grafica e grafismi

The exhibition on Orio Galli is part of the "contemporary graphics" strand.

The m.a.x. museum in Chiasso presents the first anthological exhibition of the 50-year career of Orio Galli (1941), a graphic designer, painter, illustrator, calligrapher and satirical cartoonist who used a personal linguistic register aimed at aesthetic research that was not detached from ethical and social commitment. Galli's graphic signature lies in the continuous dialectic between free sign and structured sign, between informality and geometry, between improvisation and discipline. The passion for calligraphy and gestural expressiveness leads Orio Galli to give his graphic works an often pictorial imprint, with a strong chromatic sensitivity.

The exhibition retraces the artist's creative and professional iter, showing the ideational process from which the projects that have characterised his remarkable career have sprung, including the creation of posters, corporate identities, logos designed for companies, coats of arms for the municipalities of the Canton of Ticino, as well as official printed matter for the Swiss Confederation, leaflets and brochures for tourist organisations. Organised according to a thematic-chronological criterion, more than three hundred pieces including sketches, sketches, watercolour drawings, letterheads, posters, postcards, various publications and artist's books are on display. Orio Galli links his name to the poster Ticino: terra d'artisti (1984), but we also remember the award-winning 'billboard' for the Moretto café (1970).

He won the 'Most Beautiful Swiss Books' competition twice, and thanks to his long-standing collaboration with the publisher Armando Dadò, many of his book covers received mentions. He also received the prize for the best tourist brochure for the historical processions in Mendrisio in 1977. There are many graphic designs for the Confederation, from voting prospectuses to posters for the 700th anniversary.

The entire graphic archive of Orio Galli was donated to the m.a.x. museum: the works thus became part of the art collection of the Centro Culturale Chiasso.