curated by Chiara Gatti and Nicoletta Ossanna Cavadini

coordinated by Rita Moro

joint project with m.a.x. museo, Chiasso

The MAN in Nuoro presents a monographic exhibition celebrating Giovanni Pintori, a master of Italian and international graphic design. Renowned for shaping Olivetti’s iconic visual identity, Pintori stands as a pivotal figure in the field. This exhibition is part of the museum’s ongoing research showcasing Sardinian-born artists who have made a lasting impact on the global art scene.

The MAN in Nuoro, in collaboration with the m.a.x. museo in Chiasso – its partner in a joint project to promote the artist – delves into Giovanni Pintori’s work through an extensive “graphic story”. This exhibition highlights the modernity of his visual language and the brilliance of his creative choices.

Three hundred works, including drawings and paintings, original sketches, scale models, magazine advertisements, photographs and posters, span fifty years of activity recognised by the world’s most prestigious cultural institutions: from the Palma d’Oro of the Federazione Italiana di Pubblicità (1950) to the prestigious exhibition at the MoMA in New York (1952) – in whose garden Pintori built an iron advertising sculpture –, from the exhibition at the Louvre in Paris (1955) to the certificate of excellence from the American Institute of Graphic Arts (1955), from the Medaglia d’Oro at the Fiera Internazionale di Milano (1956) to the Eight Annual Typographic Excellence Award from the Type Directors Club of New York (1962). During the first meeting of the newly formed AGI (Alliance Graphique Internationale), Pintori was nominated as a member and then became the Italian president of the same award, while the famous Japanese magazine Idea included him on the list of the thirty most significant designers of the 20th century, thus testifying to his talent and his success worldwide.

A true genius of advertising graphics, Pintori was commissioned by the forward-thinking captain of industry Adriano Olivetti to promote his company and its legendary products all over the world, from the Studio 44 to the very popular Lettera 22. He succeeded admirably in uniting form and content in every single image. Light, colour, composition and creative play define Pintori’s artistic exploration, elevating his graphics as “a metaphorical unicum of communication,” as noted by renowned American designer Paul Rand, the creator of the IBM logo. The rapid tapping of fingers on typewriter keys, letters springing to life, and the inner mechanisms of calculators reimagined as dynamic, playful motifs – these are the hallmarks of Pintori’s visual language. His work embodies a true art of writing, distinguished by elegance and a touch of irony.

“Graphics is not underpainting,” Pintori would say to those who questioned his visual language – the only one, as his friend, poet Vittorio Sereni, observed, capable of “liberating the latent resources contained in the object or product that … is proposed.”

The exhibition looks back over the artist’s creative and professional journey, illustrating the creative process behind the projects that have characterised his remarkable career, ranging from the creation of posters to playbills, corporate identities and company logos.

Biography

Giovanni Pintori was born in 1912 in Tresnuraghes (Oristano), to parents originally from Nuoro, where the family lived from 1918 onwards. After attending the ISIA (Higher Institute of Artistic Industries in Monza) together with fellow Sardinians Salvatore Fancello and Costantino Nivola, in 1936 he began working with the Olivetti Technical Advertising Department, becoming its manager in 1940 and linking his name to the image of the Ivrea-based company through a long and successful series of posters, advertising pages, outdoor signs and exhibition stands. In 1950 he received the first of many accolades: the Palma d’Oro from the Federazione Italiana Pubblicità. This was also the year he became Art Director of Olivetti, earning the esteem of Adriano Olivetti, with whom he had a direct relationship. In 1952 the MoMA in New York staged the exhibition Olivetti: Design in Industry which also included Pintori’s graphic works. In 1953 he joined the AGI (Alliance Graphique Internationale) of which he later became president. In 1955, during the exhibition at the Louvre in Paris, an entire room was devoted to his graphics for Olivetti. Also in 1955 he was awarded the Certificate of Excellence in the Graphic Arts by the AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts) and, the following year, the Medaglia d’Oro and the Diploma di Primo Premio from Linea Grafica and Fiera di Milano. In 1957 he was awarded the Diploma di Gran Premio at the 11th Milan Triennale and participated in the annual AGI exhibition in London. His images accompanied numerous articles about the Olivetti company, while his design and communication work travelled around the world, appearing in magazines such as Fortune (USA, 1953, 1957), Graphic Design (Japan, 1967) and Horizon (USA, 1969). In 1962 (two years after the death of Adriano Olivetti), Pintori received another prestigious international award: the Typographic Excellence Award from the Type Directors Club of New York, followed, in 1964, by the Certificate of Merit from the Art Directors Club of New York. In 1966 a large solo exhibition of his work was held in Tokyo. After 1967, he left Olivetti to set up on his own, working on projects for Pirelli, Gabbianelli, Ambrosetti and Parchi Liguria, among others. In 1981 he began working with the transport company Merzario, creating the graphics for their annual reports and advertising. Following this experience he left his job as a graphic designer and devoted himself entirely to painting. Giovanni Pintori passed away in Milan on 15 November 1999, leaving behind a rich documentary archive, an invaluable resource for studying industrial advertising graphics spanning five decades, from the 1930s to the 1980s.

His family donated part of the archive to the MAN_Museo d’Arte Provincia di Nuoro and a substantial portion is now on loan. The exhibition draws inspiration from this rich legacy, focusing particularly on materials from Pintori’s private archive – sketches, drawings, paintings and photographs – that offer a deeper insight into his passions, shared with fellow artists and art enthusiasts, through an innovative critical interpretation.

Joint project with m.a.x. museo, Chiasso

The m.a.x. museo, which opened on 12 November 2005 on the initiative of the Fondazione Max Huber–Kono in Chiasso, became a public institution run by the Comune di Chiasso in 2010 and is a member of ICOM (International Council of Museums). The mission of the m.a.x. museo is to promote an understanding of contemporary graphics, design, photography and visual communication. The term “graphics” refers to the field of artistic production focused on the design and creation of visual communication materials, particularly graphic design and art graphics (or historical graphics). The m.a.x. museo aims to bridge the gap between the past and the new generations of graphic artists and designers. Situated near the Cinema Teatro and the Spazio Officina, the museum’s location fosters a connection between the border town’s key cultural institutions and has also contributed to the development of the new and vital Centro Culturale Chiasso, renowned for its international exhibitions and theatrical productions. On 3 April 2019, the Centro Culturale Chiasso received a prestigious award in Zug from the Swiss Foundation for the Doron Prize. The prize, delivered with a presentation speech by Isabelle Chassot, director of the Federal Office of Culture (FOC), was awarded for the “excellent cultural offering” promoted by the border town

set-up by Stand Up, Cagliari

catalogue published by Silvana Editoriale

with texts by Chiara Gatti, Nicoletta Osanna Cavadini, Mario Piazza, Davide Cadeddu, Luigi Sansone, Angela Madesani