Markus Vallazza - The World Illustrator

With works by
Markus Vallazza

Curated by
Günther Oberhollenzer

Markus Vallazza. Illustrator, etcher, poet, rebel, cosmopolitan. The South Tyrolean artist has drawn and passionately interpreted - never simply illustrated - innumerable works of world literature. He has overcome the tight restrictions of his home country with the help of Oswald von Wolkenstein, he has entered the dark forest, suffered hell and created his own heavens with the help of Dante Alighieri, and he has traced the lifeworld and secret obsessions of Friedrich Nietzsche. Don Quijote by Miguel de Cervantes has been and still is a faithful companion of the artist, knowing that even failure can be an asset; with the "Knight of the Sorrowful Countenance", he has fought against helicopters as well as political ignorance. Vallazza's drawings have retold texts by Horace and Arthur Rimbaud, the Dolomite sagas and poems by Friederike Mayröcker; the life and music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart have found a graphic echo with a pointed pen, and companioned as well as revered artists – Alfred Kubin, H. C. Artmann, or Norbert C. Kaser – have been captured in vivid portraits. Vallazza's themes revolve around life and death, love and sensuality. In his drawings and etchings, Vallazza lets us take part in his exuberant and chaotic, horrible, and yet beautiful world, which he has committed to paper in a personal and emotional manner. 

Markus Vallazza will turn eighty in 2016. Merano Arte is honoring this exceptional artist with the exhibition curated by Günther Oberhollenzer, underlining his great importance for the art in South Tyrol over the past fifty years. Yet, Vallazza is also admired and appreciated far beyond the borders of his home country. He is an undisputed master of his trade and can be referred to as one of Europe's most significant etchers and illustrators.