MARIO CONVERTINO – Designer of the Imaginary

Opening: Saturday, May 16, 6:00 PM

Venue: Atelier Ex-Cisterne, Fabbrica del Vapore – Via Procaccini 4, Milan, Italy.

On the thirtieth anniversary of his passing, an exhibition dedicated to Mario Convertino opens in Milan. The show highlights Convertino’s central role in Italian visual culture between the late 1970s and early 1990s, presenting his work as a bridge among music, publishing, television and visual arts. It frames Convertino as a true "designer of the imaginary" whose projects continue to influence contemporary visual communication.

• Curators: CONVERTINO & DESIGNERS, in collaboration with RE NUDO.
• Context: the exhibition precedes the third edition of Le Notti dell’Underground – Il Festival di Re Nudo (June 11–14) at Fabbrica del Vapore.
• Works on display: video art, vinyl covers, photographs, drawings, graphic sketches, sculptures and archival materials.
• Highlights: emblematic album covers and the visual experimentation developed through the countercultural magazine Re Nudo.

Convertino collaborated with many prominent Italian musicians and helped redefine album cover design as an integral part of the artistic project. The exhibition is intentionally forward-looking rather than merely retrospective: it encourages a conversation between analog media and digital languages, showing how Convertino’s archive continues to inspire new perspectives and creative crossovers.

What to expect:

• Iconic covers and graphic projects that illustrate the fusion of image and sound.
• Editorial and photographic materials tied to the Re Nudo experience.
• Video works that underscore Convertino’s influence on music television and the videoclip format.

The opening on May 16 at 6:00 PM marks the official public debut of the exhibition at Fabbrica del Vapore.