FRANCO MARINAI:
BOOKS
PRINTS
PORTFOLIOS
ETC.

 

BETWEEN THE CORNERS OF MY BED
2008

Illustrated book with 109 prints,
most of them aquatinted copper plate photogravures,
from plates made and hand-pulled by the artist in his NYC studio
on an 18" x 36" bed press
on Fabriano Artistico paper
in an edition of 7.

Book size: 16 " x 12 " x 2" 1/2.




SAG HARBOR BIG BLUE GAS BALL DISMANTLED
2006
Accordion book with eigth dust-grain copper plate photogravures (on Magnani Pescia paper)
on the dismantling of Sag Harbor's Hortonsphere also known as the Big Blue Gas Ball (B.B.G.B.),
in the spring 2006.
Edition of 35, signed and numbered.
Book size: 7"x 7" x 3/8" .

click here for a prospectus in PDF format


RIO MIO MEU RIO
2005

Edition of 12, signed and numbered.
Book size: 14"3/4 x 11"1/2 x 1".
Images size: 7" x 7".

A book about Rio de Janeiro with 24 photogravures on Somerset paper.
Introductory text (in Italian, English and Portuguese) printed by letterpress in Berthold Baskerville.
Cover with linoleum cut printed by letterpress.
All artwork, printing and binding done by the artist.

The pages fold out to allow the viewing of three adjacent images to emphasize the panoramic aspects of the photogravures and underline the cinematographic flow of this travelogue through Rio.

As stated in the introduction, and illustrated with two additional photogravures, RIO MIO is also meant to be a tribute to the book and to the concrete pleasure that can be derived from paper.
In November 1966, after Florence was flooded by the Arno, the author was among the many so-called "angels of the mud" that rushed as volunteers to help the city from the disasters caused by the river. For several months he worked first at the National Library recovering books from the mud, and later in an emergency lab set up - on the premises of the heating plant of Florence railroad station - for the restoration of the rare volumes that needed most urgent intervention.
It was a rewarding experience that left him with an enduring passion for books and the tactility of paper.


 

 

 


POINT OF ORIGIN/PUNTO DI PARTENZA
2005

Book with 8 photogravures.
Text printed by letterspress in Bembo.
14 pages printed on Magnani paper.
Book dimension: 10 x 7 inches.
Typical photogravure size: 4 x 4 inches.
All artwork, text, printing, and binding done by the artist.
Edition of 36, signed and numbered.


POINT OF ORIGIN/PUNTO DI PARTENZA in English and in Italian.
One half in one language and the other half in the other.
With an introduction and a poem on the logic of the beginning, the pervasive paradox of existence, and our place at the edge of infinity.

 

 

PUNTO DI VISTA
(U-TURN)
2004

Artist's book with 6 hand-pulled photogravures on Magnani paper.
Text printed in Bethold Baskerville.
Book size: 10 x 8 inches.
Images size: 4"1/2 " x 5 "1/4.
14 pages.
Edition of 10, signed and numbered.

The book features a sequence of five enlarged details taken from the photograph of a landscape also printed at the end of the book. This structure is meant as a methaphoric device to support the point of view that religions' teachings are tantamount to inviting you to do a u-turn before a blind curve, and that God might be thought of not as the "first cause" but as the"ultimate effect": the result of a creative process of cosmic dimensions to which each individual is a contributor.
Text in English and Italian.