Drago (stylised as DRAGO) is an independent international publishing house of contemporary art based in Rome, Italy. The company specialises in street and urban art and has published the works of street photographers, street artists and graffiti writers from around the world. It is frequently involved in exhibitions of contemporary art and acts as the official publisher for various galleries, museums and institutions.
Video Drago (publisher)
Overview
Drago was founded in 2001 by Paulo Lucas von Vacano as publisher, following years working as an Italian-German journalist and president of the Castelvecchi Publishing Company, Posse of Antonio Negri and Aspenia Magazine of The Aspen Institute. He was joined by Domitilla Sartogo as executive director and Nicola Veccia Scavalli as art director.
In the same year, the company published its first book, Brice Marden's Brice Marden: Opere Su Carta 1964-2001 which was followed by the publication of Ed Templeton's The Golden Age of Neglect in 2002. As well as selling out quickly, this title became the professional skateboarder's best-known book. More recently, Drago's books have included Miss Van's Wild at Heart; Estevan Oriol's LA Woman and Boogie's Ah Wah do Dem, a book that received a score of 9.6/10 in a recent Street Hunters review. Among other notable books is Letizia Battaglia's Anthology, which has been mentioned on CNN, BBC News, The Wall Street Journal and The Daily Beast.
Drago has worked alongside many exhibitors of contemporary art. As the publisher of The French Academy in Rome - Villa Medici, it has been in charge of all publications for exhibitions and artists-in-residence and published many books with its director and art historian, Eric de Chassey. Elsewhere, the company has collaborated with the Outdoor Festival in Rome to produce a five-year catalogue of their exhibitions and the Dorothy Circus Gallery in Rome to create a trilogy of books documenting over three years of exhibitions dedicated to the Lowbrow art movement. Among other clients are Nike, The L'Orèal Group, Danesi, The City of Rome, 55DSL, Alcatel and Bulgari.
Drago's most recent project has been an exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome. Curated by Paulo Lucas von Vacano and Christian Omodeo, Cross the Streets recounts 40 years of street art and graffiti writing in Rome and beyond. It hosts 200 artworks from a number of artists ranging from Shepard Fairey to DAIM including some that came to the museum specifically to produce artwork for the exhibition.
Drago has published 112 titles, of which 12 have sold out.
Maps Drago (publisher)
Selected books
Book series
2007: 36 Chambers. Inspired by the film The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, the series features 17 books from a diverse range of contemporary artists including Nick Walker, Mike Giant and Ivory Serra. For many of these artists, including Nick Walker, their contribution to the series was their first ever book.
Exhibitions
Drago exhibitions
- 2002: Andres Serrano: Via Crucis at Santa Marta al Collegio Romano, a deconsecrated church in Rome. Curated by Paulo von Vacano.
- 2003: Ed Templeton: Angel of Decay at Acquario Romano in Rome. Curated by Paulo von Vacano.
- 2005: Kennedy. La Famiglia, I Valori, Una Storia at the Temple of Hadrian in Rome. Commissioned by Walter Veltroni and organised by Drago, the exhibition remains the largest in Europe to document the Kennedy family. Catalogue ISBN 9788888493084.
- 2017: Cross the Streets; 40 Years of Street Art and Writing at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome. Curated by Paulo von Vacano, concept by Drago.
Exhibition catalogues
- 2008: Scala Mercalli at Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome. Curated by Gianluca Marziani. Catalogue ISBN 9788888493428.
- 2008: City Slang, The Street Comes to the Gallery at the Dorothy Circus Gallery in Rome. Catalogue ISBN 9788888493404
- 2009: Dalek + Mike Giant at the Magda Danysz Gallery in Paris. Curated by Magda Danysz. Dalek catalogue ISBN 9788888493497, Mike Giant catalogue ISBN 9788888493190
- 2010: I Mutanti at the French Academy in Rome. Curated by Eric de Chassey. Catalogue ISBN 9788888493596
- 2010: Jean-Auguste Dominique Ingres / Ellsworth Kelly at the French Academy in Rome. Curated by Eric de Chassey. Catalogue ISBN 9788888493619
- 2011: Europunk: The Visual Culture Of Punk In Europe at the French Academy in Rome. Curated by Eric de Chassey. English catalogue ISBN 9788888493725.
- 2011: Lo Sguardo Non Mente (English: The Eyes Never Lie) at Palazzo Cà Zanardi, Venice by Riccardo Ghilardi. Catalogue ISBN 9788888493824
- 2012: Miss Van: Wild at Heart at the Dorothy Circus Gallery in Rome. Catalogue ISBN 9788888493930
- 2012: Jean-Marc Bustamante at the French Academy in Rome. Curated by Eric de Chassey. Catalogue ISBN 9788888493831
- 2013: Israel Now [Reinventing the Future] at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome. Curated by Micol Di Veroli. Catalogue ISBN 9788888493879.
- 2013: Les Bains : Résidence d'Artistes at les Bains Douches in Paris. Commissioned by Jeanne-Pierre Marois and curated by Magda Danysz. Catalogue ISBN 9788888493978
- 2013: Sean Scully: Change and Horizontals at the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna in Rome. Curated by Joanna Kleinberg and Brett Littman, in collaboration with Peter Benson Miller. Catalogue ISBN 9788888493916.
- 2013-2014: Europunk - Cité de la Musique at Cité de la Musique, Paris. Curated by Eric de Chassey. Catalogue ISBN 9788888493992.
- 2014: Simon Hantai at the French Academy in Rome. Curated by Eric de Chassey. Catalogue ISBN 9788898565023
- 2014: Shepard Fairey #OBEY at Palazzo delle Arti di Napoli in Naples. Curated by Massimo Sgroi. Catalogue ISBN 9788898565108.
- 2015: Kazuki Takamatsu, Even a Doll Can Do It at the Dorothy Circus Gallery in Rome. Catalogue ISBN 9788898565115.
- 2016-2017: Letizia Battaglia, Just For Passion (Italian: Per Pura Passione) at the MAXXI National Museum of the 21st Century Arts in Rome. Curated by Paolo Falcone, Margherita Guccione, and Bartolomeo Pietromarchi. English catalogue ISBN 9788898565207, Italian catalogue ISBN 9788898565320.
References
External links
- Drago's website
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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