What happens when writing becomes an image?
For Ugo La Pietra, the “writing” that appears on the cover of la Lettura is much more than a graphic element. It is a symbolic tribute to the history of Corriere della Sera, but also a reflection of one of the central elements of his artistic practice: the sign as a space for thought, communication and memory.
Words, lines and gestures become part of a visual language that invites us to look beyond their immediate meaning. The cover thus becomes a meeting point between the history of a newspaper and the research of an artist who has spent more than sixty years questioning the relationship between individuals, space and communication.
An artist beyond boundaries
Born in Bussi sul Tirino in 1938, Ugo La Pietra is one of the leading figures on the Italian art and design scene of the second half of the twentieth century.
Trained as an architect, his practice has always resisted conventional boundaries. Artist, filmmaker, editor, musician, cartoonist and educator, La Pietra has moved freely between disciplines, transforming this constant crossing of languages into one of the defining principles of his work.
Drawing, photography, writing, installation, architecture and design are not separate fields in his practice. They are interconnected tools for exploring how we inhabit spaces, how we communicate and how we construct our relationship with the world around us.
The sign as memory
The idea of the sign runs through more than six decades of La Pietra’s research.
For the artist, a sign is never merely decorative. It can preserve a memory, reveal a relationship or question the systems and conventions that shape everyday life. Through it, art enters into dialogue with architecture, design, urban space and communication.
This approach is also at the heart of the work created for la Lettura. Here, writing becomes both image and gesture: a trace that connects La Pietra’s artistic language with the history and identity of Corriere della Sera.
The result is a cover that can be read on different levels as a tribute, a visual statement and an invitation to reflect on the relationship between words, images and collective memory.
More than sixty years of experimentation
La Pietra’s work continues to demonstrate the vitality of this approach. His research can currently be explored in the exhibition Alla finestra at Fondazione La Rocca in Pescara, curated by Giacinto Di Pietrantonio and on view until 24 October.
The exhibition offers another perspective on an artistic journey built on the freedom to move between disciplines and on a continuous desire to question the spaces, objects and visual systems that surround us.
A new work for Corriere Art Collection
With this special edition of la Lettura, Ugo La Pietra’s work also becomes part of Corriere Art Collection.
Through the QR code included with the collector’s edition, readers can access the NFT-certified digital version of the artwork via the Corriere Art Collection app.
A work in which writing becomes a sign, the sign becomes memory, and memory opens up new ways of looking at the present.
Because in Ugo La Pietra’s work, art is not simply something to observe: it is a tool for questioning the way we inhabit and interpret the world.