Maurizio Manzieri (Naples, 23 April 1961) is an Italian illustrator. His artistic production is known for illustrations of fantasy genre in the field of fantasy and science fiction literature, especially in Italy and the United States. During his career he has earned several awards including a Chesley Prize, awarded by ASFA, the American Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists. In 2021 he is a Finalist for the Hugo Award (Best Professional Artist), presented by Worldcon, the world congress of science fiction fans.
After obtaining the classical maturity, he began working as a graphic designer. In 1988 he moved to Turin and in 1995 he began his professional career as an illustrator in the field of fantasy genre publishing several works on the cover of the British Interzone. A versatile experimenter, Maurizio soon abandoned pencils and brushes, becoming one of the first digital illustrators to use a computer and a graphics tablet to simulate the manual techniques of traditional painting. In 1997 he was invited to exhibit his works at Digipainting ’97, the first International Exhibition of Digital Art sponsored by the City of Rome. With the occasion he signed the Manifesto of Digitalism, along with other artists who attended the event, including Laurence Gartel, Lorenzo Paolini, Dominique De Bardonnèche, Debi Lee Mandel, Bert Monroy, Cher Threinen-Pendarvis.
Between 1998 and 2000 he made several illustrations for the newsstand magazines Urania, Solaria, and at the same time inaugurated a long-lasting collaboration with some major American science fiction and fantasy magazines: The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Asimov’s Science Fiction, Analog Science Fiction and Fact. Over the years Maurizio has illustrated the covers of many Italian and foreign books for authors such as Ursula K. Le Guin, Aliette de Bodard, Terry Brooks, Clive Cussler, Elizabeth Bear, Peter S. Beagle, Robert Silverberg, Robert J. Sawyer, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Kelley Armstrong. Guest of honor at numerous events in Italy and Switzerland, he has created official posters and playbills for events such as: Lucca Comics & Games (2014), Sassari Comics & Games (2016), Fantasy Basel (2016), Zurich Game Show (2018, 2019) and Cartoons on the Bay (2019).
Between 1988 and 2012 he alternated his activities as an illustrator with numerous collaborations and editorial consultancies in the field of comics, from the acquisition of foreign rights in the field of art for publishing houses to the management of specialized bookstores, until the decision to abandon his working career to devote himself full time to illustration. His work has been included in the international yearbooks Spectrum, the Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art (Vol. 6, 11, 20) and Infected by Art (Vol. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9).
(source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
