Franco Grignani (1908-1999) was one of the most important figures in twentieth-century visual communication. This catalogue of the exhibition devoted to him at the m.a.x. museo in Chiasso records the complexity of his achievements and his research into the subject of multi-sensoriality.
The exhibition layout and documentary inquiry explore his work in the three main fields of photography, graphic design and art. Through research conducted at the family archives, specific holdings in the Museo di Fotografia Contemporanea – MUFOCO based in Cinisello Balsamo (Milan) and the Associazione Italiana Design della Comunicazione Visiva – AIAP, as well as among important Italian and Swiss private art collections, it is now possible to reconstruct the fundamental stages in Franco Grignani’s artistic experimentation. The catalogue includes essays by Mario Piazza, Roberta Valtorta, Giovanni Anceschi, Nicoletta Ossanna Cavadini and Bruno Monguzzi that investigate his work from his initial research into photography to advertising graphics, mathematical-perceptive analysis and optical art.