Exhibition: AlpiTypes

Kunst Meran Merano Arte hosts AlpiTypes, dedicated to the contemporary reinterpretation and connection between lettering, typographic design and lettering painting. The exhibition focuses on applied graphics developed in the first half of the 20th century in the area currently corresponding to South Tyrol, Tyrol and Trentino. Curated by Antonino Benincasa, Massimo Martignoni and Anna Zinelli, AlpiTypes is based on the in-depth research conducted by Benincasa and Martignoni on local graphics. A group of students from the Free University of Bozen/Bolzano, Faculty of Design and Art, accompanied by Antonino Benincasa, reinterpreted historical typefaces from incomplete alphabets, which at the time were often made by hand, integrating the missing characters, revealing how the original typographic concept was inspired by European stylistic currents such as Bauhaus, Rationalism, the Wiener Secession, Constructivism and the Arts and Crafts movement. The project is enhanced by the involvement of international graphic designers, who use the fonts to create contemporary typographic posters. The work highlights a quality and topicality of graphic design in the area that is still almost unknown.