Jelle Jespers spent twelve years researching Argentine graphic design from the 1940s to the 1970s, with a particular focus on printed matter related to art, poetry, architecture, and design. Together with Andrea Gergich, who provides the historical and conceptual framework, they present a rich and insightful portrait of a field in full transition.

The story begins in the 1940s, when Argentine design started to detach itself from traditional roots and opened up to the principles of European modernism. A key moment came in 1951 with the founding of the magazine Nueva Visión, inspired by László Moholy-Nagy’s Bauhaus concept The New Vision and led by Tomás Maldonado. During the 1960s, the discipline flourished with innovative styles developed by figures such as Rubén Fontana, Juan Carlos Distéfano, and Edgardo Giménez, strongly influenced by contemporary art and new printing techniques. By the 1970s, the focus shifted toward conceptual approaches, in dialogue with Jorge Glusberg’s CAyC movement, as design began to engage with critical discourse.

The exhibition brings together catalogues, invitations, and publications, tracing how graphic design evolved from a craft into a professional discipline. Typography runs as a common thread, revealing the intersections of aesthetics, culture, and ideas, unfolding as a vivid story of design as a cultural force.

Lecture: 04.11.25: 1–2 p.m.
Exhibition: 04.11.25–05.12.25: 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Venue: Sint Lucas Antwerpen, Library ,
Van Schoonbekestraat 143, Antwerp

Artists: Jelle Jespers, Andrea Gergich