Maria Pina
Bentivenga

Maria Pina Bentivenga was born in Stigliano, in the province of Matera, in 1973. After completing her secondary education, she moved to Rome to study at the Academy of Fine Arts.
Her love for the graphic mark, which in her work takes shape through pure drawing and intaglio printmaking, has driven her to work with determination ever since her studies at the academy.
Her prints and artists’ books have been exhibited in Italy and abroad and can be found in collections including the Albertina in Vienna, the Istituto Nazionale per la Grafica in Rome, the Raccolta d’arte CGIL in Rome, and the Civica Raccolta Bertarelli in Milan.
She is a founding member of the InSigna Atelier in Rome, which focuses on the promotion and production of artists’ books and graphic art. She is also a member of the board of the Associazione Incisori Contemporanei (Contemporary Printmakers’ Association) and, since 2016, has served on the board of the Renate Herold Czaschka International Foundation for the Promotion of Graphic Art.
Alongside her artistic career, she also teaches: since 2000, she has been lecturing on Special Graphic Techniques and Graphic Art at the RUFA (Rome University of Fine Arts); since 2019, she has been lecturing on Printmaking Techniques, and since 2020, on Special Graphic Techniques, at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome; for ten years, she taught Engraving Techniques at the City of Rome’s School of Ornamental Arts.
She runs specialist workshops on printmaking, letterpress and the artist’s book.
She has taken part in numerous events in Italy and abroad, including, most recently: nomination for the Queen Sonja Print Award 2022; creation of the Paper Pavilion XIII UNESCO in Fabriano for the Creative Cities Conference 2019; participation in Encuentro – Impact X, the World Printmaking Conference: Santander, Spain, 2018; Impronte Romane at the Temple Gallery in Rome, 2018; Ruvidezze, Galleria Cartavetra, Florence, 2017.

On this course, each student will be provided with a basic understanding of intaglio and typographic techniques for creating iconographic narratives based on literary texts. If we start from the premise that engagement with text is a fundamental theme in contemporary art in all its forms, then forging a link between word and image through the privileged medium of the artist’s book enables us, in a modern key, to open up avenues that have yet to be fully explored.
The core objective of the course is to compose typographic texts using movable lead and wood type, with the aim of establishing a dialogue between text and image.
Particular attention will be paid to selecting the book format and to refining the use of typography within the artist’s book and the illustrated book.
In addition to learning the basics of typography using movable type and polymer typefaces, students will create art publishing products.

The training programme involves the creation of:
A plaquette featuring a haiku and a frieze.
A fanfold-bound book with a title page, two pages of text, three images and a colophon, produced in a small edition.
An artist’s book in two signatures, bound, with a cover.

Bibliography:
Gill, Eric, On Typography, Lazise, Ronzani Editore, 2019
Tavoni, Maria Gioia, Storie di libri e Tecnologie, Rome, Carocci, 2022
Bringhurst, Robert, Gli elementi dello stile tipografico, Milan, Edizioni Silvestre Bonnard, 2005
Maffei, Giorgio, Il libro d’artista – Milan, Edizioni Silvestre Bonnard, 2003
Blackwell, Lewis, Caratteri e Tipografia del XX Secolo, Bologna, Zanichelli, 1995

Over the past two decades, the artistic and professional spheres of Art Graphics have intersected to the point of inevitable overlaps in research, experimentation and aesthetic language. The ability to industrially produce increasingly sophisticated and cost-effective graphic multiples has shifted the focus of artistic research towards hybrid frontiers that combine technical, aesthetic and material experimentation with a concern for the environment and the use of non-toxic technical options.
For a course on special printmaking techniques, it is necessary to engage in dialogue in this direction, in order to provide students with the tools for exploration that will enable them to develop their own interdisciplinary path. The course will primarily focus on two technical and aesthetic approaches.
Lithography on a synthetic substrate: In addition to being highly versatile and cost-effective, this technique has a low environmental impact, and the work produced falls into the non-toxic category as, unlike lithography on stone, it does not involve the use of any solvents or acids. In the context of aesthetic and iconographic experimentation, this technique, like industrial offset printing, allows for the use of photography as well as direct drawing on the plate, as in traditional lithography.
Monotyping. One of the foundational techniques of art graphics, within the field of painting, which allows for considerable freedom of action and experimentation. The various possibilities offered by this technique will be explored, with a particular focus on the expressive investigation of line and gesture.
During the course, students will produce personal projects and will be provided with the tools needed to realise the full potential of the techniques used.

Bibliography:
D’Arcy Hughes, Ann; Vernon-Morris, Herbe. La Stampa d’Arte, tecniche tradizionali e contemporanee, Modena, Logos 201
Fick, Bill; Grabowski, Beth. Printmaking: A Complete Guide to Materials and Processes, London, Laurence King Publishing 2015