In 1962, young graphic artist Juan Ángel Cotta died in a car crash. His ongoing work project at the time, 103 covers for Los Libros del Mirasol —one of South America's most unique and appealingly-illustrated book collections— went into oblivion until designers Francisco Roca and Leandro Castelao envisaged assembling his piecemeal job into a single volume. During this talk, you will have the chance to delve into thegdsxv research that turned a heartfelt casual endeavour into a full editorial journey, culminating in the first-ever book to compile Cotta’s visual legacy.
In the words of design critic Steven Heller:
Cotta’s work, especially a collection of hardback books he illustrated in 1960 under the series title The Sunflower Books is one of the missing links between South American publishing and the European modernist traditions.