Tutti Frutti

Tutti-Frutti

an exhibition comprising more than 200 photographs recording the work of designers, painters, draftsmen and women and non-professional or self-taught calligraphers from various of the world’s peoples, asks spectators to give thought to popular graphics as an effective representation of cultural diversity. The careful selection of images for the exhibition by its curator America Sanchez is displayed by thematic groupings in mosaics pointing to the affinities and contrasts of a rural and urban iconography. It also includes, as some kind of break for reflection, fragments of texts, specially written by reputed practitioners and experts on visual communication from various world capitals, such as Félix Beltrán, Ruedi Baur, Armando Milani, Marcelo Drumond, André Guürtler, Reza Abedini, etc., where they expressed their particular vision on popular graphics.
Tutti Frutti was initially conceived and organized by DIMAD (Madrid Designers Association) and the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, under the auspices of UNESCO

America Sanchez

was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1939. Self-taught as an artist, America Sanchez’s early training was marked by the so-called “Swiss School”, via Josef Müller-Brockmann’s book The Graphic Artist and his Design Problems, and, from 1967 onwards, by his teaching activities in Barcelona’s Escuela Eina, as well as other schools and institutions. In 1965 he arrived in Barcelona, where he worked as a free-lance designer. A year later he set up his own studio, specializing in corporate identity work for businesses and institutions, and graphic design for exhibitions and special events.
America Sanchez combines his activity as a graphic designer with extended research and experimentation in other spheres of the image: photography, photomontage and video. Since 1963 he has shown in individual and group exhibitions as a photographer and given classes and audiovisual lectures on photographic creativity. The Bibliothèque Nationale de France, the Musée d’Aurillac, ivam Centre Julio González and the Museum of Fine Art in Houston have photos by him in their collections, as does the Museum of Modern Art in New York, which also possesses examples of his graphic work.
He has also participated in various national and international design exhibitions and contributed to many specialized publications. In the spring of 1991 he had a major show of his work in the Palacio de la Virreina in Barcelona, sponsored by the Barcelona City Council. He has been awarded the Laus Prize on six occasions. National Design Prize 1992. Prize Ciutat de Barcelona 2001 by the book Barcelona Gráfica.

Reza Abedini

was born in Tehran, Iran, in 1967. He graduated as a graphic designer at the school of Fine Arts in 1985. In 1992 he received his B.A. in painting from the Tehran Art University. From 1993 onwards, Reza Abedini Studio’s reputation grew steadily along with its body of work. Recognition came first in Iran, and quickly followed in the rest of the world. He has given Iranian graphic design its own unique handwriting, and its own deserved position on the world map.
His vision and work has traveled the world through exhibitions, awards and lectures. Among his latest awards, he received: Gold Prize - Hong Kong International Poster Triennial in 2004; Gold medal - 8th International Biennial of the Poster in Mexico 2004; First prize - International Biennale of the Islamic world Poster Iran – 2004; Bronze Medal - The 2nd China International Poster Biennial CIPB - China 2005; First prize - 9th Press Festival of Children & Young Adults Iran – 2005; he is also the recipient of The Principal Prince Claus Award The Netherlands, 2006.
Reza Abedini is a member of Iranian Graphic Designers Society since 1997 and of Alliance Graphique International (AGI) since 2001. In 2009, he founded international design agency OrientationLab with strategic director Paul Hughes. Abedini currently lives and works in the Netherlands.