Andrea Calisi

About this artist

Rome-born Andrea Calisi grew up in a busy Perugia house with siblings and animals, then ran art-therapy workshops before illustrating in Rome. Acrylic, wax pastel and pencil for WWF, Universal Music, Milan Icons and Tokyo's Mitsukoshi. Baci, with Guia Risari, is for children. 2023 brought the originals.

Gemini_Generated_Image_9k5q779k5q779k5q_

YooshiQ's Note

Back to the Index

Born in Rome in May 1968, Andrea Calisi grew up in a busy Perugia house — four sisters, a brother, and a menagerie of animals. Warmth first. Art school next. Then a social cooperative, running creative workshops in a semi-residential facility for young people with schizophrenia. Compassion stayed in the hand.

This formative experience laid the groundwork for Calisi's future endeavors, as he later moved to Rome to deepen his collaborations as an illustrator and graphic designer. His talents were soon recognized, and he went on to work with significant fashion houses and cultural institutions such as Arci Nazionale, the magazine D la Repubblica delle Donne, the cultural supplement Alias of the Manifesto, WWF, Regione Lazio, Touring Club Italiano, and the University of Siena. His portfolio expanded to include collaborations with Universal Music, Einaudi, Rizzoli Education, La Nave di Teseo, Linus, and other prominent publishing houses.

Calisi's work has been showcased in a variety of prestigious venues, including Umbria Jazz, Villa Celimontana Jazz, Expo Cartoon in Rome, Sano Museum in Mishima, Daimaru Museum in Kyoto, and Mitsukoshi Department Store in Tokyo. His artistic reach spans across continents, reflecting a global appreciation for his distinctive style and profound understanding of the human condition.

In 2021, Calisi co-authored "Baci," an album for children, with Guia Risari, which was published by Edizioni Corsare. This collaboration further demonstrated his versatility and ability to connect with audiences of all ages through the universal language of art.

From June 2023, Milan Icons featured a selection of Calisi's original works created with mixed techniques, including acrylics, colored pencils, and wax pastels. Starting in October, the exhibition exclusively presented a collection of limited editions, further cementing Calisi's place among contemporary artists.

Andrea Calisi's journey is one of artistic exploration and therapeutic purpose, a record of art's power to both heal and inspire. His body of work stands as a bridge between the personal and the universal, a reflection of the human spirit in all its complexity and beauty.