Casale Comic Off - Exhibition "FROM THE CELESTIAL SPHERES TO SPACESHIPS"

FROM CELESTIAL SPHERES TO SPACESHIPS - Franco Brambilla's Science Fiction and the Ancient Volumes of the Casale Monferrato Seminary Library May 15 to June 7, 2026 Opening, Friday, May 15, 6:00 PM Exhibition in collaboration with the Cultural Heritage Office of the Diocese of Casale Monferrato Hours: Saturday, May 23 and Sunday, May 24, 10:00 AM - 7:00 PM; Saturday, May 30 and Sunday, May 31; Tuesday, June 2; Saturday, June 6 and Sunday, June 7, 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM Any fan of Asimov, Clarke, or Philip K. Dick knows that science fiction is much more than a literary genre. It is a way of imagining the future that, through narrative, focuses on the aspirations, dreams, and possibilities that humanity sees before it. Without Lucian of Samosata, Ariosto, or Jules Verne, mankind would hardly have had the same aspirations of reaching the moon. So the game devised for this incredible treasure trove of precious books, the Library of the Seminary of Casale, was both spontaneous and stimulating: comparing the visions of one of the most famous illustrators of Italian science fiction, Franco Brambilla, with the ancient volumes housed here: treatises on astronomy and astrology, scientific descriptions, accounts of real and imaginary voyages. The spaceships exploring interstellar space imagined for so many Urania covers sit alongside Aristotle and Ptolemy's vision of the cosmos, aliens are not so far removed from medieval bestiaries, and the cities Brambilla imagines for other worlds are reflected in engravings of fantastical architecture. The exhibition features a total of around forty large-format works, plus the many sketches created by Brambilla over the course of a 40-year career in this genre. There will also be two big surprises for the public: Brambilla's spaceships will actually plow through the library, and aliens will invade the reading room. This latter operation is possible thanks to an old library postcard and the "Invading The Vintage" project, spearheaded by Brambilla, which now includes this Casale space. Franco Brambilla Born in 1967, he graduated from the European Institute of Design in 1991. From 1998 to 2005, he contributed to the economics supplement of the Corriere della Sera. In 1998, together with longtime friends Pierluigi Longo and Giacomo Spazio, he founded Airstudio, a point of reference for major Italian publishing houses for graphic design and illustration. A lifelong science fiction enthusiast, he has collaborated for over twenty-five years with the most famous Italian publishing series in the field: Urania, Urania Collezione, and Urania Millemondi, creating two or three covers a month. Over the years, he has created numerous covers for children's books, thrillers, horror, and science fiction for the Mondadori bookstore. A purely digital illustrator, he combines 3D modeling with watercolors, pencils, and pastels. Since 2021, he has taught a course on science fiction illustration at the International School of Comics in Milan. In 2007, he launched his artistic project: "Invading The Vintage," in which his grandfather's postcards, as well as old science fiction films and TV series, are invaded, reinterpreted, or distorted by friendly, mysterious aliens. The project is still ongoing and is well-known online, hosted by dozens of blogs (from Boing Boing to Neatorama, Io9) and international art and science magazines, including Wired USA and Italy, Vice, Juxtapoz, Blue Canvas, and the Sunday Telegraph. His personal website is: www.francobrambilla.com. “Invading The Vintage” is the only Italian project to have been included in the “bible” of Geek Art: “geek art - une anthologie” edited and published in France in 2012 by Thomas Olivri and to have participated in the retrofuturist group exhibition “Futur Antérieur” organized in Paris at the Galerie Du Journe Ages B. The project and author were official guests at the Independent Art Festival in Sint Niklaas (Belgium) in April 2014. “Invading the vintage” has created invaded posters and postcards for various events including the Mystfest in Cattolica, the SantArcangelo Theatre Festival, Lucca Comics and Games, Albissola Comics and in 2016 it invaded the ten zones that make up the Municipality of Segrate, creating 10 postcards that were donated by the Proloco to the people of Segrate. Franco Brambilla received the "Best Artist" award at the European Awards, Eurocon Fiuggi 2009. Since 2011, he has won the "Premio Italia" eleven times as an illustrator and for best illustration. He was awarded the Carlo Jacono Prize for "popular illustration" in 2013.