Simone Bianchi. The art of superheroes

At Livorno, in the suggestive setting of the Granai di Villa Mimbelli, the exhibition “Simone Bianchi. The Art of Superheroes” arrives, promoted by the Municipality of Livorno and the Livorno Foundation, with the contribution of Castagneto Banca 1910 and the patronage of Lucca Comics & Games: the community event dedicated to Comics, Games, Video Games, Fantasy Literature, Manga, Anime, Animation Cinema, TV Series, and Cosplay.

Curated by Giorgio Bacci, the exhibition will remain open until November 12, 2023.

The exhibition, the largest so far in Tuscany, as well as the longest in terms of duration among those dedicated to Simone Bianchi, was made possible thanks to 22 collectors who loaned their artworks. For over 16 weeks, it will be possible to admire the illustrator’s production as a whole. Over 110 works – including 20 unpublished ones – that cover the years 2000 onwards can be contemplated. From the cover of “Wolverine Origins #24” from 2009, to the internal pages of “Astonishing X-Men” from 2008, to the upcoming covers to be published in the States (this July) of “Amazing Spider-Man #26” and “Edge of Spider-Verse #4” in a world premiere for the Livorno exhibition.

There is another small record that belongs to this monographic exhibition by Simone Bianchi. It is the first time that a representative of the Ninth Art exhibits alongside the great authors of the 19th century present in the Fattori Museum. An alliance with art tout court that Simone has always carried forward with great enthusiasm and foresight.

To crown the experience in Simone Bianchi’s world, an immersive room awaits the visitor along the exhibition path. Created by Art Media Studio – which has in its portfolio prestigious interactive exhibitions worldwide ranging from Leonardo to Van Gogh, from Raphael to Klimt – the room allows the artist’s images to literally come to life. Simone’s universe comes alive and amazes the viewer as in a real film.

In the contemporary global panorama, Simone Bianchi is certainly among the greatest interpreters of the most famous superheroes who have marked the collective imagination of entire generations. Superman and Batman, Iron Man and Spider-Man, Thor and Captain America, as well as Wolverine, the X-Men, the Avengers, Sharkey – The Bounty Hunter (in collaboration with Mark Millar, for Netflix), just to mention a small part, have all passed through Bianchi’s fervent creative vein, the first European to be appointed to execute the Upper Deck Marvel Masterpieces project, which in 2018 had a double, contemporary exhibition at Lucca Comics & Games and in New York, at the Metropolis Gallery.

The exhibition presents the visitor with a vast selection of works including paintings, sketches, and posters, and aims to reconstruct the artist’s creative process, starting from the preparatory drawing to the final work, ready for printing. An imaginative and surprising journey, designed for a wide audience (from children to adults, to industry enthusiasts). A section of the exhibition is also dedicated to the artist’s relationship with the international music scene, ideally completing a true and unique journey into the creative world of a contemporary interpreter.

Simone Bianchi:
Since he was a child, he has been interested in illustration. Not only has he turned this passion into a profession, but he has also become a true icon of the world of comics. An illustrator and painter with a background as an art teacher, he is known worldwide for his work in the American comic book industry. A master of contemporary Comic Art, he stands out for his rich and detailed painterly style. In the United States, he first collaborated with DC Comics and then exclusively with Marvel for over a decade, creating several issues and covers for famous titles, including Wolverine, X-Men, Thor, Thanos, Spider-Man, and Star Wars.