The book is part of a series of works in which I have explored the oxidative processes of natural colour. In this case, the only substance used to dye the paper was pomegranate: thanks to the action of iron and calcium oxides, it is possible to obtain a fairly wide spectrum of colours that take shape on the support during the dyeing process. The pyrographic intervention openly symbolises the structure of a text (which exists but is not revealed to the viewer); the work, in its ambiguity and transience, contradicts the identity of the traditional book, i.e. "the place of the verbal", created to preserve and transmit the written word over time.

Artist's book (unique), pyrographic intervention on Kozo paper, natural colours, oxides, beeswax.
23 x 27 cm, 2024

The book deliberately refers to the short lyric poem by the Greek poet Sappho, partially reworking its meaning. If Sappho meditates on the decline of youth, Virginia Lorenzetti reflects on the decline of the human species, accentuating its drama and transposing its meaning onto paper through the figuration of a great fire. The paper, dyed with natural pigments, is perforated by a pyrograph, testifying to the artist's search for a graphic light and her preference for the subtractive sign typical of woodcuts. What also opens up is a dialogue with the surrounding space/light, which comes into contact with the work and constantly modifies its perception.

Gioia Cianchi, 2023

Artist's book (unique), pyrographic intervention on Wenzhou and Kozo paper, natural colours.
10 x 32 cm, 2022

The edition is the 50th prject of Officina Chimerea: verses by Ghiannis Ritsos translated by Maria Caracausi, with two woodcut prints by Virginia Lorenzetti. Throughout his life, Ritsos wrote verses, day after day; when he died, he left behind an immense amount of unpublished work. Among them is the notebook, translated by Maria Rosa Caracausi, 'Bianche macule sopra il bianco', from which the poems were taken. Ritsos here prefers short verses, finds poetry in the everyday and expresses himself in a few short, intense lines. The title, with its decisive Hellenic reference, evokes the whiteness in which Beauty sinks and "circulates". The poetic universe of the proposed verses is made up of gestures, traces, clothes, a love, everyday images and classical memories, well-written and enriched words, music and silence. From the outside in, the visual identity evokes the whiteness and colours of Greece. The short poems (seven to fifteen lines), their quiet, serene content, suggested a 'minimalist' approach to the book's aesthetics and graphic layout.
The edition was designed and produced by Alessandro Corubolo and Agostino Contò in the workshop of Officina Chimerea, Verona; the graphics were printed by Virginia Lorenzetti in the workshop of Marina Bindella in Rome.

by Sandro Corubolo

Artist's book (40 exemplars), typographic and woodcut print on Blanc Narcisse - Richard De Bas paper.
Fifteen poems in neo-Greek translation by Maria Caracausi, from the collection ‘Bianche macule sopra il bianco’, Palermo, Torre del Vento edizioni, 2019
22 x 16 cm, 2023

The book is inspired by Cees Noteboom's poem 'Il Numero della Nebbia', which is included in both the original (Dutch) version and the Italian translation. The short poem speaks of life in its various phases; the structure of the book and its components - from the watery forms obtained by dyeing to the pyrographic graphic intervention - are intended to represent the meaning of life sung in the poem, delicate and melancholic, yet extremely precious. Both texts were printed in typographic polymer on the vertical printing press.
The edition was entirely designed and produced in Marina Marina Bindella for HD Edizioni in Rome.

Artist's book (20 exemplars), pyrographic intervention on Wenzhou and Kozo paper, natural colours.
10 x 32 cm, 2022

This project explores the relationship between migraine and artistic expression, encompassing an artist's book and a series of four drawings. The artist's book narrates the trajectory of a migraine attack through woodcut illustrations paired with personal diary excerpts, portraying the intense crisis and its ephemeral traces. The drawings interpret the migraine aura, a neurological phenomenon marked by distorted perceptions that alter reality temporarily, followed by residual pain. While the book reflects the artist's personal experiences, the drawings represent the visual and psycho-physical disturbances of four individuals based on their stories.
Created at the Graphic Workshops of the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome and finalized during the early Covid-19 lockdown, the project highlights migraine as both a defining condition and a source of artistic inspiration, shaping our identity and our creativity.

Artist’s book (10 exemplars), woodcut and letterpress print on Fabriano Palatina paper; hand-made Abaca-Kozo paper cover
32 x 20 mm, 2020

Aura 1 (Ambra), Aura 2 (Lia), Aura 3 (Marina), Aura 4 (Mattia)
ink drawing on Kozo-Abaca paper, circa 30 x 50 cm

The edition was made at the Book Art Department of the Academy of Fine Arts in Halle/Saale, Germany, where I studied for a semester. Ephemera" - i.e. ephemeral objects often made of paper and intended for a short-term purpose, such as receipts, cinema tickets, postcards, etc. - was the starting theme we were asked to work on. I decided to interpret it philosophically, choosing as the subject of the work the comparison between human life and the life of mayflies, which only live for one day.
The book consists of two Leporelli (which together resemble the wing structure of the insects) printed in silkscreen on both sides. On one side is the graphic, on the other two poems by Emily Dickinson about joy and sorrow in the flow of life. The title itself corresponds to the first lines of a short poem that E.D. wrote on the wrapping paper of a cake she had probably just eaten.

Artist’s book (9 exemplars), Japanese paper, natural dyeing, silkscreen print.
13 x 31 cm, 2019