Meet OZ. OZ lives in Milan. OZ is an illustrator who rides a tiny red bike. OZ sends postcards and likes the Beatles in India. OZ drives a Yellow Fiat. OZ reads the news upside-down while wearing stripes. OZ hates blue ink pens. OZ is a nickname for Olimpia Zagnoli! Zagnoli was born in 1984 in northern Italy.
This young illustrator has adopted a clear line and a retro curvature and color palette. She has exhibited her work and published her illustrations throughout Europe and the USA. Her clients include The New York Times, The New Yorker, Air France, Adidas Originals, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, and The Harvard Business Review.
Together with her father, Miro Zagnoli, a photographer, Olimpia created Clodomiro. The duo’s family-run online shop features everyday objects which appeal to their taste. Their first project is a series of fine bone china plates with erotically-inspired imagery, conceptualized in Milan and produced in Stoke-On-Trent in the UK. Care for strawberries atop a vagina? Or Adam & Even with some spaghetti?
Above are excerpts from Zagnoli’s Last exhibition at Galerie Michel Lagarde and the launch of the book Monsieur Horizontal & Madame Verticale written by Noémie Revah and illustrated by the artist. In 2013, she was presented the Communication Arts Award of Excellence for a series of illustrations done for Italian newspaper La Repubblica. On the bottom right, is her illustration for The New York Times Sunday Review “It’s Not Mess. It’s Creativity”. On the top left, an excerpt from Flying Marina Abramovic, 2013.
Top left, an illustration for La Repubblica about censorship and a zebra. Give that poor Zebra her stripes back! Far right vertical, The New Science of Mind – The New York Times Sunday Review. The notebook features sketches by OZ from the Summer of 2013.
Top Left, a Sunday illustration for La Repubblica about picking the right kind of information. In this instance, the right kind of information also coincides with the right kind of butterflies. Top Middle, a 100% silk scarf designed for Clodomiro. Top Right, an illustration for La Repubblica about astronomy and the dark side of the matter. Bottom left, Zagnoli herself, in the studio, getting work done! Could we steal those glasses? Bottom right, Neuroliterature, a piece for La Repubblica on how neurosciences are trying to explain the feelings activated by literature.
Zagnoli is part punk, part mod, and highly saturated! At the tender age of 29 she has already made a name for herself in the international graphic design scene. On the Right is her illustration Italian magazine Internazionale urging people to support record stores not just on Record Store Day. Most importantly, they have a Record Store Day in Italy!