TCAF may be over, but the brilliant exhibition of original artwork by TCAF Featured Guest Lorenzo Mattotti will continue until June 26th! Drawn from his masterful adaptation of Hansel & Gretel, this exhibition of originals is truly incredible, and we strongly recommend you visit it while it’s still up! Our thanks to The Istituto Italiano di Cultura for their incredible support.
HANSEL & GRETEL: An exhibit by Lorenzo Mattotti
runs at the Istituto Italiano di Cultura (496 Huron St.)
from May 9th through June 26th
Open Mon – Fri: 10:00am. – 1:00pm.; 2:30pm. – 4:30pm.
About Hansel & Gretel: In 1812, the Brothers Grimm published the story of “Hansel and Gretel” about a brother and sister who must survive abandonment by their parents and being captured by a hungry witch.
In 2007, Mattotti created compelling black-and-white artwork for the fairy tale. While not in the traditional graphic novel format, this illustrated short story alternates between images and words, allowing for full spreads of the artist’s drawings, punctuated by intermittent spreads of text. There is no question that Gaiman is an incredibly gifted wordsmith, and his retelling hearkens back to the Grimms’s original narrative. The most inspirational part of this book is Mattotti’s artwork. Pitch-black India ink is used to great effect, creating dark and terrifying landscapes that threaten to envelop the tiny figures of the children.
About Lorenzo Mattotti: Lorenzo Mattotti is an Italian comics and graphic artist living in Paris. He is a Featured Guest of TCAF 2015, and attends the festival with the support of the Istituto Italiano di Cultura.
Mattotti’s English-language works include Fires and Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (from NBM, which won an Eisner Award in 2003) , Murmur (Penguin Books), Chimera (Ignatz/Fantagraphics) and The Raven (Fantagraphics). Mattotti also contributed to the groundbreaking alternative comix anthology RAW, and is a frequent contributor to The New Yorker–including many cover illustrations.
In addition to his comics and illustration work, Lorenzo Mattotti is a highly respected multi-disciplinary artists, from reinterpreting reinterpreting the models of the most famous fashion designers for “Vanity” magazine, to designing the title sequences for the film “Eros” by Wong Kar-wai, to directing an animated version of his work in the animation anthology “Fears of the Dark.”
