Tales of the Table is the title both of a book published by Vànvere Edizioni and of an exhibition held in the unique setting of our bookshop's bookshelves. In the book, the white sheet of paper illustrated in masterly style by Simone Rea becomes a pure white tablecloth spread on a table and laid in the most unexpected ways. Taking her cue from his mysterious images, Chiara Carminati has invented 16 stories, or perhaps we should call them 16 story outlines: a set of foretastes where the reader can either complete the missing parts or invent totally new tales.

In the exhibition, the 16 plates illustrated by Simone Rea are displayed in giant-sized format, pointing up his talent and the expressive potential of the graphic plate with which the original plates were made while also revealing the timeless elegance and charm of black-and-white.

Tales of the Table is published by Vànvere Edizioni 2020.

Vànvere edizioni is a small publishing house with its head office in Rome. It unquestionably has a place in the group of publishers of weighty illustrated albums with a predilection for working books that engross and involve the reader well beyond the printed page. Reading Vànvere's books makes you want to laugh! There are often no words because you need to add them yourself. To mention only a few, Guido Scarabottolo's Bestiario Accidentale hosts encounters among animals who don't normally meet up, and the only words present are the animals' scientific names: What happens when a camel meets a bat? And what if a donkey meets a whale? Weird, amusing and impossible stories ensue! You can even remove your favourite animals by tearing along the dotted line and taking them with you wherever you go.

In Franco Matticchio's Libretto Postale, extraordinary animals are the leading characters in 16 genuine postcards, to write or draw on, and 16 pretend postage stamps to collect. The characters on the postcards are a group of different animals having fun imitating human beings: there's a kangaroo postman, an elephant with a backpack going for a hike in the mountains, a squirrel in his little house preparing an omelette, a cat trying to get her passport photo taken and a dog refusing to answer the phone.

Simone Rea “I started to draw at the age of three and I haven't stopped since. I attended the Accademia di Belle Arti in Rome. I am the recipient of numerous Prizes and Awards. I have been teaching since 2012 both at the Ars in Fabula school of illustration in Macerata and at the Scuola Romana dei Fumetti in Rome. I also work with numerous Italian and foreign publishing houses.”

Chiara Carminati writes poems, stories and plays for children and teenagers. Specialising in teaching poetry, she holds refresher courses for teachers and librarians both in Italy and abroad. She won the Andersen Award for Best Author in 2012. She has also been the recipient of such awards as the Premio Strega Ragazzi, the Premio Pierluigi Cappello and the Premio Camaiore per la Poesia. Her website is: www.parolematte.it

Information
The Palazzo delle Esposizioni's @libreriaPdE Bookshop in Via Milano 15/17, Rome, is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 11.00 am to 8.00 pm
For further information:

phone: +39.06.6962.71211