INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITIONS:

David Shrigley (GB)
Human-like

Quite often artists transport their statements so over the top, either intellectually or formally that the observer misses-out on the fun behind the artwork. Shrigley does the opposite. Hidden behind his crude lines and the wilful, furious humour one discovers a deep artistic reflection on the meaning of life. It appears simple, the way he draws so minimalist and free, making the observer feel a little awkward at second glance (after spontaneously laughing at first) then finally pausing, somewhat bewildered in front of his picture. His absurd comments about the absurd world are so magnified they stimulate one in such an unpretentious way to really reflect. Fumetto will present hundreds of his inimitable drawings and his latest animated films.



Blutch (FR)
Artist in Residence

Spontaneity is a highly-endeavoured term when artists are being described. Blutch will present this daily both in content and in style with his artistic investigation of Lucerne as artist in residence. It doesn’t matter if he draws or paints, his work seems to expose a liveliness that captures and excites. Whether it’s cryptic or poetic, his cosmos appears never-ending, never-endingly beautiful. There’s nothing more fascinating then watching this artist at work, someone who has mastered the most varied techniques with style. This can be done exclusively at Fumetto 2009. Next to this there will also be a special selection of originals from the “kleine Christian” series plus some of his paintings.



Yuichi Yokoyama (JP)
Conscience-distillation

Manga tells stories that are completely different to western comics. Yokoyama continues to develop the typical Manga characteristics. In doing so he creates new fundamentals. In his stories he distils speed, action and the flow of narration into their pure forms. The figures don’t act psychologically or emotionally. He creates a world that is completely utopian and not at all like stereotype science fiction and fantasy. Yokoyama studied the fine arts and developed this view through his own painting. He is an artist who makes art and comics that are fascinatingly different, that somehow require a new style of reading. For the first time ever in Europe, Fumetto will compare his work with that of the Mangas.



Mat Brinkman (US)

The American belongs to that group of artists who ceaselessly search for new methods of expression. The art market has no criteria to him as he submits himself totally to his own dictation of creativity. Brinkman is what one would call an avant-garde artist. He devotes himself so unpredictably and radically to new techniques and styles that he’s almost untouchable and always one step ahead. The creative workshop “Fort Thunder”, which was brought to life with artist friends, is also legendary and has developed an incredibly tight, artistic quality midst in all the chaos. The “Fort” influenced a whole generation of young American artists. Fumetto will present a selection of his latest pieces.



Frank Santoro, Lauren Weinstein, C.F., Ogden Whitney (US)
PictureBox

The American comic is extraordinarily diverse but normally one only knows the famous artists of the “golden age” and the superhero world. Fumetto will present an exhibition in conjunction with PictureBox Publishing that will bring together an old unknown master of days gone by, Odgen Whitney and three young comic artists of today – Lauren Weinstein, C.F. and Frank Santaro. The observer will receive a piece of comic history from its development days and also have the pleasure of discovering new sides to this particular art form. Countless originals will be included from the artists plus sketches and rough copies. The exhibition makes one aware just what is possible with comics and what already was.

Mark Newgarden (US)
What is funny?


There is a long tradition regarding the essence of humour. Aristotoles even tried to locate it philosophically, but this phenomenon just can’t seem to be pinned down scientifically, there are just too many decisive factors. Mark Newgarden occupies himself in another way with it. He has been fathoming the difference between being funny and not being funny for years now. In addition, Newgarden has also been concentrating quite intensively on the American Pop-Culture. With his cartoons he has created a complex archaeology of the subject. Newgarden somehow explains and deconstructs humour at the same time with his work. Fumetto will not only display his cartoons but also the award-winning children’s books he created together with Megan Cash.



Amanda Vähämäki (FI)
Enigma

Amanda Vähämäki is one of the most promising talents in the comic scene. Winning the Fumetto competition in 2005 was the very first time she hit the international scene. Since then she has been continually developing her style without loosing her original characteristics. Enigmatic stories about the adverse lives of the youth are presented in expressive drawings. Fumetto was the launching pad for the young Finn leading to numerous publications in international magazines. Fumetto will present her latest work in an individual exhibition in an aim to mesmerize visitors with her beautiful art plus also to put wind into her sails and keep her career sailing along.



Daisuke Ichiba (JP)
Grave-digging

Japan is famous for its clean lines and forms, both in design and also social dealings. But Japan is also famous for its somewhat extreme positions both in the arts and also in social aspects. Daisuke Ichiba is a master of shocking, grotesque pictures which are called “Ero Guro” in Japan. He doesn’t just scratch the surface, he digs in the underground. His drawings, wooden carvings and photos are images from a manic, compulsive soul. They are the expressions of an intuitive comprehension of a condition that ruthlessly pries into the chasms of the human soul and bursts open the hidden sides of the superficially clean, disciplined Japanese society.



Geneviève Castrée (CA)
Wonder world

The young Canadian Geneviève Castrée sees art as being an opinion, something that controls her life at all times. She is a comic drawer, painter and musician and uses these art forms in order to tell poetic stories. Sometimes they are very personal statements, almost autobiographical, but then they can be statements on political or social themes. Castrée interprets these into strong imagery and in doing so leads her viewers into a dream world. Quite often she also delivers a film and soundtrack with it creating an intense, sensual experience.



Shary Boyle (CA)
Dream Castle

Shary Boyle is part of a young, self-confident North American artist scene that is beginning to play an important role in the art business. She works with the most varied art forms like drawing, painting, installations, plastic and performance. Shary Boyle creates a charming, childlike dream world, but it’s a world in which our malfunctioning society continually shines through. The absurdity of man can not be overcome and Shary Boyle makes this perfectly clear in a poetic, removing type of way. Her art disregards the codes of society, leading the observer into what appears to be a safe world, forcing them to take an even closer look, questioning the aesthetic and social categories and wondering about taboos.



Ever Meulen (BE)
Playing with lines

“Ligne Claire” is the most famous and discussed style of comic. Ever Meulen is one of its representatives, even though he’s not a comic drawer. At the beginning of his career he drew a few comic-strips and being a Belgian drawer and graphic artist the influence from the Ligne Claire School is extremely present. But Ever Meulen newly defined the canon of the school, a school whose most famous representative is (without doubt) Hergé. He plays with its lines like a virtuoso, extending the style’s possibilities and breaking all taboos. Ever Meulen set the Ligne Claire free of its chains and became a role-model for a whole generation of drawers/artists as a result. Fumetto will present the power of his work in a carefully selected retrospective.



Rutu Modan (IL)
The way things go

Rutu Mordan already made it perfectly clear with her short stories that she was going to become one of the biggest. And she continued to develop and further herself, catapulting to the top of the comic scene with her first graphic novel “Blutspuren/ Blood trails”. In Blutspuren she combines her magnificent artwork with her incredible narrating capability. Text and picture form an inseparable language, the perfect foundation for high-quality comics. She understands how to use empty spaces just like detailed references in an equally intensifying way. In doing so she captures her readers totally and challenges them to produce the ability of interpretation. Fumetto will not only display comics but also Modans exclusive press-illustrations


NATIONAL EXHIBITIONS.

Elvis Studio (CH)
Antiseptical

The artistic-duo, including Helge Reumann and Xavier Robel, worked on their pictures together. Their pieces are provocative and break taboos. They’re overflowing with countless short stories in a tiny space, which appear to have no connection what so ever. But the fill of good and bad, madness and cuteness, destruction and references to history and the development of human civilisation make an intensive statement on the complexity of society and the role we play in it as individuals. Fumetto will present the latest work, pieces that somehow complete this creative-cycle of excessive “wimmel” pictures (pictures teeming with people, animals etc.). As a contrast there will also be an object installation on display with which a new world is created in a room.



Flag Aubry/Broquard (CH)
Goodbye Revolution

Flag consist of Bastien Aubry and Dimitri Broquard. The duo mixes up graphics, illustrations, the fine arts, performances and installations all in one exhibition. It appears as if they both don’t think much of rules and that they just spontaneously adapt their ideas. That makes their work fresh and full of expression. But their pieces are a reaction to the times and the modes of the art markets which they subtly infiltrate and treat ironically. The duo finds itself cheated on when the sublime aims of an art form are presented as being revolutionary as they lead the references of art in their exhibitions completely absurdly. That is extremely witty and at the same time a deep statement.



Luca Schenardi (CH)
Nature vs. Culture

One can’t help but notice Luca Schenardi’s bitterness. But it becomes even more obvious in his artwork. Born in canton Uri, Switzerland the secludedness and connection to nature are deep within his roots. In spite of this nature is still only an escape, because he lives in the rhythm of the city, under the dictation of the market and the constant flood of media information. As a result the graphic artist and illustrator repeatedly turns to his artwork in an aim to digest his experiences and emotions. Schenardi’s ambitious work will be honoured with the “Fumetto-Schleuder”. His latest pieces, which were especially created for the Fumetto exhibition, will be published in the Edition Fumetto under the tittle “D.I.J.D.S.D – Das ist ja das schöne daran”, That’s the nice thing about it.



Alex Baladi (CH)
Routine & Accident

The Geneva born artist Alex Baladi studied film and discovered his passion for comics at a later date. His inspirations do not come from the comic scene, making his picture language develop even more originally. The unique artistic and narrative position was discovered quite early and he is printed today by the most renowned publishing houses in Switzerland, France, Belgium and England. At Fumetto he will also show that his artistic language even goes its own way in the putting together of an exhibition. Together with Fumetto he has made a production that allows us an incredible insight into his fantasies. Most of the pieces on display were exclusively created for this exhibition.



HSLU Design & Kunst (CH)
Hey Hey Hero

Fumetto pushes young artists with a special student exhibition. This year the talented graduates from the HSLU (from the last few years) will receive the possibility to present their work. Various artists will present their pieces in an interactive exhibition addressing the theme superheros, continuing at the venue to further develop their work in a sort of exhibition-laboratory: The artists will display their paintings (especially created for the event), paint wall pictures live at the exhibition, sew a complete superhero collection, put on various performances and also present changing/ growing installations. The visitors are invited to become a part of this 9 day long creative process.

Es ist die 18. Ausgabe des internationalen Comix-Festivals Fumetto in Luzern, die 18 nationalen und internationalen Hauptausstellungen spannen mit dem Rahmenprogramm einen weiten inhaltlichen Bogen vom klassischen Comic, über die angewandte Kunst zur Installation und auch zur Mode. Die wichtigste Position innerhalb des Ausstellungsprogramms nimmt David Shrigley mit seiner dreimonatigen Ausstellung im Kunstmuseum Luzern ein. Zusammen mit den Ausstellungen von Yuichi Yokoyama und Elvis Studio hat Fumetto dieses Jahr zum ersten Mal ein Gastrecht im Museum während einer regulären Ausstellungsperiode (28. März bis 20 Juni 2009). Ebenfalls neu ist der erste Tag des Festivals, der bis spät in die Nacht Einblicke in die Welt des Comics bietet mit Vorträgen, Zeichnerduellen, Führungen und Performances. Einige Ausstellungen werden bis 1.00 Uhr geöffnet sein. Es wird ein Fest der Begegnungen.
Inhaltlich konzentriert sich Fumetto auf die Schwerpunkte Japan, «alte Meister» vs. «junge Wilde» und Theater/Tanz. Das Hauptausstellungsprogramm bringt mit zwei Japanischen Künstlern, Yuichi Yokoyama und Daisuke Ichiba, zum ersten Mal auch fernöstliche Kunstformen ans Festival und eröffnet somit ein neues Spannungsfeld. Die sogenannten alten Meister sind dem klassischen Comiczeichnen verpflichtet wie Ever Meulen (BE), Blutch (FR) als Artist in Residence, Rutu Modan (IL) oder der New Yorker Mark Newgarden. Die junge Generation vertreten die beiden Kanadierinnen Shary Boyle und Geneviève Castrée, das Zürcher Duo FLAG – Bastien Aubry und Dimitry Broquard –, die Finnin Amanda Vähämäki, die 2005 den Fumetto- Comicwettbewerb gewann und Luca Schenardi (Luzern). Luca Schenardi ist dieses Jahr die «Fumetto-Schleuder» gewidmet; Schenardi erhält eine Hauptausstellung und eine Publikation. Der Titel seines Werks «D.I.J.D.S.D. – Das ist ja das Schöne daran», ist eine ironisch-zynische Anspielung auf das Kürzel «DSDS», eine deutsche Casting Show. In seinen Bildern, die sowohl zeit- als auch fundamentalkritisch zu verstehen und zu lesen sind, seziert und demaskiert Schenardi die ihn umgebende und beeinflussende Lebenswelt. Das Luzerner Theater spielt seit November 2008 die Operette «Der Vogelhändler» mit der Bühnenausstattung von Henning Wagenbreth. Während des Festivals zeigt das Luzerner Theater weitere Vorstellungen. «Das perfekte Verbrechen» findet während des Festivals im UG Theater statt und das Stück «Reality Show» wird in der Jazzkantine aufgeführt, wo sich auch die Fumetto-Bar befindet. In Zusammenarbeit mit dem Südpol kommt Marie-Caroline Hominals «Fly Girl» auf die Bühne, eine zeitgenössische Tanzinterpretation einer Comic-Figur.