Luigi Serafini

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Luigi Serafini (born in Rome, 4 August 1949) is an Italian artist. He is best known for creating the Codex Seraphinianus, a book published by Franco Maria Ricci, Milan 1981, a matter of interest to Roland Barthes. In 1984 Italo Calvino wrote an essay on it, which can be found in "Collezione di sabbia" (Sand Collection) by Mondadori. This book inspired also the French choreographer Philippe Decouflé. In 1984 Serafini published the more rare Pulcinellopedia (piccola) by Longanesi, as a suite of pencil drawings about the Neapolitan masque of Pulcinella.

During the '80s he worked also as an architect and designer in Milano. His objects were often defined by a certain metalanguage aptitude, like the chairs Santa and Suspiral or the lamps and the glass for Artemide. He has created scenery, lighting and costumes for the ballet " The Jazz Calender" by Frederick Ashton at Teatro Alla Scala and worked also for the Piccolo Teatro di Milano. He has done set designs for RAI, television acronyms/logos in computer graphics. He collaborated with Federico Fellini on his final film, La voce della luna (The Voice of the Moon), for which he developed preliminary designs. He has been a visiting artist at the Banff Centre in Alberta, Canada, and has had exhibitions at the Fondazione Mudima di Milano, the XIII Quadriennale, and the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna (National Gallery of Modern Art) in Rome.

He has opened a laboratory of ceramics in Umbria, operating between art and craft. He does personal exhibitions, especially in Holland, and participates in numerous collectives. In 2003 a polychrome bronze sculpture, "Carpe Diem" and other bas-reliefs were done for one of the Naple subway stations (Mater Dei).

In May 2007, the "ontological exhibition" Luna Pac was held in Milano at P.A.C. (Pavillion of Contemporary Art (Milano)).