Books and other writings

 In this page you can find the books I authored and  participated to write.

Microworlds, by Margherita Dessanay and Marc Valli

• 215 illustrations
• 144 pages
• 200 x 200
• ISBN 9781856697873
• Published August 2011

This book reveals how all kinds of visual artists (contemporary artists, street artists, photographers and even product designers) are using miniatures and miniaturized worlds in order to create startling situations and memorable images. The small people and small worlds featured give us a new sense of perspective, transporting us to a new dimension where we can find enchanted new cities, where people make homes out of pumpkins or go diving into breakfast bowls.
‘Gorgeously quaint, Microworlds features scenarios of miniature figurines being surrounded by real life, but in their eyes a vastly oversized version.’ (69 Degrees)

Stencil Republic, by Olly Walker from OllyStudio. Texts by Margherita Dessanay

• 50 colour illustrations
• 90 pages
• 250 x 250
• ISBN 9781780670133
• Published October 2012

Stencil Republic is a pure celebration of the art of the stencil. The 20 stencils featured, printed on perforated card stock so that they can be cut out and used, have been created by international artists from across the street art scene, from the old masters to the new kids on the block. The laser cutting process used to create the stencils allows the artwork to be reproduced in very fine detail. 

Each artist has created an in-situ photograph to accompany their stencil, showing how they would use it, along with other imagery. There is also a short interview with each artist. A collector’s item in its own right, Stencil Republic is a book that can be used and treasured or can simply be an inspiration to others to create.

see the review at Vandalog.

It’s a Stick-Up, by Olly Walker from OllyStudio. Texts by Margherita Dessanay

• 200 illustrations
• 88 pages
• 350 x 245 mm
• ISBN 9781780671017
• Published April 2013

This is the first book to look at an increasingly popular form of street art: the paste-up or ‘wheatie’. Many street artists don’t graffiti or stencil any more but use pre-prepared paper images that can be taken down, thereby avoiding a vandalism charge. 
The book shows the work of 20 artists, with photographs of their art in situ, a brief profile, and a fold-out paste-up. The fold-out pages are perforated so they can easily be removed. Some of the paste-ups will be laser cut with attaching tags so they can be popped out. There’s also an introductory interview with cult street   artists Sten & Lex.

see the review at Hookedblog

Polvo – Adriana Varejão, by Margherita Dessanay.

Published on the occasion of the exhibition Polvo at Victoria Miro Gallery, London.

(click on the cover to see the online version of the catalogue)

A Brush With The Real – Figurative Painting Today, by Margherita Dessanay and Marc Valli

• 320 colour illustrations
• 320 pages
• 280 x 216 mm
• ISBN 9781780672830
• Published March 2014

Why painting today? In the digital age, with its powers of instant recall and infinite reproduction, why are we witnessing an unprecedented revival of figurative painting?

A Brush with the Real presents a survey of key contemporary artists who have each embraced painting and are working within a realist tradition. Through individual interviews the book peers into the life and work of each of these artists, discussing their methods, motives and sources, from art history to the internet and the language of film. The book celebrates the work of 51 artists who are each taking the medium in a new direction: from those who work with appropriation and found images, to those trying to get as close as possible to contemporary reality and first-hand experience, to artists who are simply using painting as a door to parallel or imaginary worlds.

The book makes the argument that, since perhaps the early Renaissance, the role fulfilled by painting has never been so vital or timely: in our image-saturated culture, digital technology has given painting and its slow, full-resolution images a new lease of life.

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