Speak to the Past: The Posters of Michel Casarramona

 

The posters of Swiss illustrator Michel Casarramona move between impressionistic caricature and deliberate realism. With each of his posters having a low color count, he finds visual depth with his organic and controlled pencil marks. Beneath his hand-drawn gradients exist a single plot of color, Each poster is in need of dense information on a single slab of paper, Cassaramona lays out his custom type while never losing sight of the core illustration. Each print is an exquisite lesson in the classic gig poster — no false move of type, figure, or color.

Cassaramona’s work speaks to the past, turning to the visual cues of the ’50s and ’50s advertising world. That was an era that focused on developing the tools of marketing that are still in use today — sell experience, sell an idea. Cassaramona understands his posters exist to promote a specific event, but he shows faith in his art to the story.