Building Bridges

Building Bridges is Olimpia Zagnoli’s tribute to Gio Ponti—a volume conceived as an extension of the exhibition of the same name, inaugurated in early 2025 at the Italian Cultural Institute in Stockholm.

In this project, Zagnoli—one of the most influential illustrators and designers on the international scene—explores the encounter between her unmistakable style, marked by vibrant colors and soft forms, and the rational yet poetic aesthetic of Ponti, a pivotal figure in 20th-century Italian design.

The book features 32 previously unpublished illustrations that create a visual dialogue between the artist’s iconic female figures and the modernist architecture of the celebrated architect. It is also a deeply personal homage: Zagnoli lives in a building designed by Ponti himself.

The work stands as a refined celebration of mid-20th-century Milan, reimagined through the irony, lightness, and graphic sensitivity that define the artist’s unique perspective.

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Illustrations by Olimpia Zagnoli
Texts by Giovanni Bellucci, Francesco Di Lella, Olimpia Zagnoli
Book design Bunker

13.5 × 19 cm
80 pages
Hardcover
Italian/English

Isbn 978-88-98030-81-1
First edition April 2025