A dialogue between two leading figures of contemporary illustration, moving between narrative visions, real cities and inner landscapes
My New York family is about to host a fascinating evening, and even if I can’t be there in person, I’ll be present through a drawing. Salotto will host a special event: “Momentum: A Conversation with Lorenzo Mattotti” in conversation with Emiliano Ponzi.
Lorenzo Mattotti is one of the most influential illustrators and cartoonists of his generation. Known for his powerful use of color, elastic lines, and a narrative approach that moves freely between comics, painting and illustration, he has worked for major international magazines, created iconic book covers and graphic novels, and collaborated with cinema and animation. His work often balances between dream and architecture, inner landscapes and real cities, always with a strong emotional charge and a very personal visual language.
Emiliano Ponzi, who will converse with him, is a leading figure of contemporary illustration. His style is essential and sharp, built on bold compositions, calibrated colors and strong conceptual ideas. Over the years he has collaborated with the most important international publishers and newspapers, developing a visual language capable of transforming complex themes into images that are immediately readable but rich in depth. His illustrations often inhabit the border between design and storytelling, between graphic precision and poetic suggestion.
Starting from the reason behind Mattotti’s stay in New York — his solo exhibition at Philippe Labaune Gallery @philippelabaunegallery — the conversation will revisit key moments of his creative journey. Mattotti will share a selection of his most meaningful illustrations, discuss his relationship with painting, and present one of his latest illustrated works: Paul Auster’s The New York Trilogy. In dialogue with Ponzi, the evening will become an opportunity to explore two different but complementary ways of thinking about images today: one more expressionist and visionary, the other more minimal and conceptual, both deeply narrative.
The event is organized in collaboration with Philippe Labaune Gallery, the Society of Illustrators, and Rizzoli Bookstore.
