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1 // What was the first piece that you created, when and where?
I believe that the first works I did with regard to calligraphy and lettering were individual letters. I like to remember them as my first works because without writing I probably never would have picked up this line of work.
2 // What was the most recent piece you made, when and where?
It was a sentence painted along a large wall at EX3, the contemporary art hall, in Florence with Dem. It was the most amazing thing, I had this sentence that practically “found” me in a library in Florence and for our collaboration it occurred to Dem to illustrate the same exact sentence. It was an incredible coincidence that we both immediately recognized. There is a short video of the installation, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIPVxz4CW6k .
3 // What is the work of which you are the most proud/you feel the most attached to or that has particular significance for you?
Last year, for about 3 months, I was involved with the calligraphic reproduction of an enormous world map from the 1500s, I had to write millions of names directly on the globe with a quill and ink pen with letters only 2-3 millimeters in height.
This project involved about 14 people, including artisans, restorers, calligraphers, and illuminators.
This project was truly a test of endurance as well as an extremely rare opportunity, considering that most of the work that I do is commercial.
4 // Which artist or artists do you believe contributed the most to stimulating your imagination?
For calligraphy, I would say all of the teachers that I had, either directly or indirectly, in particular Giovanni De Faccio and Hermann Zapf.
Among my biggest influences are certainly Saul Bass and Herb Lubalin, also Rick Griffin, and the great illustrators and calligraphers of the psychedelic poster art era.
As for writers, I would have to mention Smash and Twist.
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