Luca Barcellona

Luca Barcellona is an internationally known calligrapher, whom we are used to knowing for his immediate language, made of sinuous letters that bring calligraphic art into the contemporary world. Lost in Strokes is a publication about the artist’s current work, which, however, differs from the ‘Barcelona world’ we all know.

The book speaks an unprecedented language, on the borderline between asemic writing and painting, which photographs Barcelona’s expressive, stylistic and emotional evolution and his work of very recent times, demonstrating once again how for the author writing represents a dense, meditative, certainly artistic act. Letters for the first time are transformed into urban landscapes that create new pictorial alphabets, skylines start from types, are nourished by writing, but also take their distance from it to become something else, much more complex, as if to summarise the artist’s journey so far.

Certainly “using writing, making writing, and partly overcoming writing itself is an urgent issue in our contemporary times” (Fabiola Naldi), and once again Luca Barcellona positions himself as one of the most interesting artists on the international calligraphy scene, who indeed each time seems to push the boundary of the discipline a little further, trespassing, through an expressive metamorphosis, into contemporary art.

Also available in limited edition: Lost in Strokes – Limited Edition

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Texts by Fabiola Naldi and Luca Barcellona
Soundtrack by Dj Craim
Book design by Bunker

21 × 28 cm
48 pages
Gloo bound
Italian
Isbn 978-88-98030-46-0
First published February 2022

For purchases in the USA and Canada, we recommend contacting Oak Knoll.

“Writing becomes art and individual letters take on a life of their own”.
– La Repubblica

The first published monograph on the artist is now available in a new, larger softcover edition. The book features hundreds of drawings including commissioned works, personal projects, performances and many never-before-seen works. Barcelona is internationally regarded as one of the most important lettering artists working today. Ideal for calligraphers, graphic designers, type designers, art directors, advertising professionals, illustrators and students.

For Luca Barcellona, letters are the building blocks of his creations. From Carolingian to tags, from quill pen to spray can, Barcellona takes the ancient craft of lettering to new heights with the inventiveness and talent of a contemporary virtuoso. His surprising, expressive and original forms and compositions open up unexplored territory, laying the foundations for a new style of lettering. Barcelona’s versatile work is admired and commissioned by major brands in fashion, music, film and publishing.

With contributions by: Charles ‘Chaz’ Bojórquez, legendary urban artist from Los Angeles, who began his career in the Chicano scene of the late 1960s and over the years has successfully transitioned from the street to the art gallery; Giovanni De Faccio, professional calligrapher, typeface designer (his best known is Rialto DF), and founding member of the Associazione Calligrafica Italiana. He is internationally renowned for his teaching and dedication to the promotion of calligraphy. He teaches calligraphy and type design at the New Design University in St. Pölten, Austria. Nicola ‘Dee Mo’ Peressoni made his debut in the late 1980s as an illustrator of European hardcore punk covers, posters and fanzines and went on to work in hip hop, becoming a pioneering figure in graffiti and Italian rap. His writings have been published in “Max”, “Rumore” and “Rolling Stone”.

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Texts by Luca Barcellona, Giovanni De Faccio and Nicola ‘Dee Mo’ Peressoni
Interview by Chaz Bojórquez
Original book design by Pitis
Paperback edition with revised layout by Bunker

23 × 33 cm
240 pages
Over 400 full color illustrations
Paperback
English/Italian
Isbn 978-88-98030-02-6
First published March 2016

“Luca Barcellona shatters the boundaries as he blends his street sensibility with fine penmanship.”
— Letter Arts Review

For Luca Barcellona, Italian graphic designer and calligrapher, letters are the building blocks of his creations. From Carolingian to tags, from the quill to the spray can, Barcellona takes the age-old craft of lettering to new heights with the inventiveness and talent of a contemporary virtuoso. His striking, expressive, and original letterforms and compositions open onto uncharted territory, laying the foundations of a new writing style.

Take Your Pleasure Seriously (a quote by the designers Charles and Ray Eames) serves as a leitmotif for Barcellona who turned his passion into a way of life, first as a graffiti artist and then as a professional calligrapher. His production spans a broad spectrum from the reproduction of a world globe from 1569 to brand identities, book covers, ad campaigns, and performances.

This beautifully designed artist book features hundreds of drawings made over the last decade including commissioned work (Carhartt, Dolce & Gabbana, Nike, Red Bull, Universal, etc.), personal projects, performances, and many never-seen-before work. The book will fascinate and inspire anybody who works with letters or is interested in how they look.

Contributors: Charles “Chaz” Bojórquez legendary urban artist from Los Angeles, began his career in the Chicano scene of the late 1960s and over the years shifted successfully from street to gallery artist; Giovanni De Faccio is a professional calligrapher, typeface designer (his most well-known is Rialto DF), and founding member of the Italian Calligraphic Association. He is internationally renowned for his teaching and dedication to the promotion of calligraphy. He teaches calligraphy and type design at the New Design University in St. Pölten, Austria; Nicola “Dee Mo” Peressoni debuted in the late eighties as an illustrator of European hardcore punk covers, posters, and fanzines, and went on to work in hip hop, becoming a pioneering figure in Italian graffiti and rap. His writing has been published in Max, Rumore, and Rolling Stone Italy.

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Text by Luca Barcellona, Giovanni De Faccio and Nicola “Dee Mo” Peressoni
Interview by Chaz Bojórquez
Book design Pitis

Collector’s Limited Edition of 50 copies
Each book signed, numbered, and personalized by the artist with the purchaser’s name
Includes an original work by the artist on cotton paper 16 × 18 cm (6 ¼ × 7”).
Housed in an embossed clothbound clamshell box
19 × 27 cm (7 ½ × 10 ½”)
224 + 32 pages
Over 400 color plates.
Clothbound with poster jacket.
English/Italian
First published November 2012