LECTURAS DE CABECERA

Lecturas de Cabecera (Bedside Readings) are the lighthouse beacon that guides the direction of our dreams at night. Before bed, on the hazy and sleepy border between life and our desires we feed on stories to stay alive. Universal and timeless stories ride freely through the infinite space of our minds. And thanks to them dreams may overcome us, but reality never entirely does.   Casa del Lector presents the illustration biennial ILUSTRARTE 2012 , in which 50 artists from a wide range of nationalities participated. The exhibition, comprised of 150 illustrations, is a reflection on the possibilities of telling and reading stories through images. Its curators, Eduardo Filipe and Ju Godinho, were motivated to start this project through their desire to share their passion for images that recount stories and their certitude that the picture book can be a vehicle for the best art.   The selection is a good reflection of the current state of international contemporary illustration. An eclectic mix of styles and techniques, that reflects a variety of cultural origins, with established names alongside an emerging group of unpublished young illustrators.   ILUSTRATE 2012 awarded its prize to the Italian Illustrator Valerio Vidali. The expressive and seductive illustrations of the artist, express to the reader a story about an umbrella that was left on a bus, which passes from hand to hand, encountering new owners and new utilities. Two special mentions were also awarded to the magnificent images of Simone Rea (Italy) and the Swiss duo Nina Wehrle and Laube Evelyne.