Danilo Bucchi's artist book 'Oltretutto' pairs portraits with drawings

Danilo Bucchi (Rome, 1978) presented his artist book 'Oltretutto' (Drago, 2024) at MAXXI on June 19, 2024, curated by Achille Bonito Oliva, launching the museum's summer program. The project spans over nine years and features 80 black-and-white portraits paired with drawings by the subjects themselves. Notable figures include actors Elio Germano, Alessandro Borghi, Jasmine Trinca, Virginia Raffaele, singer Emma, filmmaker Ferzan Ozpetek, writer Emanuele Trevi, and curator Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, alongside everyday people. Bucchi, known as a painter, here uses photography to capture human essence, juxtaposing each portrait with the subject's own sketch to reveal their unconscious. The work explores the dialogue between photography (freezing time) and drawing (interpreting it), creating a 'metaphysical' limbo. Bucchi stated the project began from a desire to go 'beyond the eyes' of a close friend, leading him to combine photo and drawing.