In
1973 , at the psychiatric hospital of
Volterra , with the help of the patients, he created two works: a pyramid filled with drawings, puppets and personal objects of the patients, and a gigantic papier-mâché pill, symbolizing pharmacological treatments which, in a sort of purifying gesture aimed at denouncing the abuse of pharmacological therapy and raising awareness among the citizens, was burned in a square of the city.
The 1980s saw his "American period," with his paintings depicting objects and commonplaces in
American cities. He collaborated with
RAI , for which he created theme songs, and with advertising agencies. In the following decade, he combined his numerous activities with his commitment to the theater, designing sets and costumes for
Donizetti 's
L'elisir d'amore at the
Rome Opera , the
Paris Opera ,
Lausanne ,
Liège , and
Metz .
In 1991 and 2009 Nespolo created the palio for the
Giostra della Quintana of
Foligno , in 1998 the one for the August edition of the
Quintana chivalric tournament of
Ascoli Piceno , in
2000 the two
sendalli for the
Palio of Asti and in 2009 the banner of the
Palio of Siena .
In 2003, the organizers of the
Giro d'Italia entrusted him with the creation of the
pink jersey and the official poster, and in
2005 in
Turin he created thematic works for
GTT in the
Metro stations and for the exterior of the shopping center on Via Livorno.
In 2007, he designed the sets and costumes for the opera
Madama Butterfly , which opened the 53rd season of the
Puccini Festival in
Torre del Lago Puccini on July 20. The following year, he curated "Nespolo legge Dante," a limited-edition triptych commissioned by
De Agostini of Novara for a reading of the
Divine Comedy through figurative art. This was followed by a solo exhibition held in New York at the Walter Wickiser Gallery and a retrospective at the
Museo del Cinema . He also participated in the exhibition "Italics: Italian Art between Tradition and Revolution, 1968-2008" with two works, at the invitation of the management of
Palazzo Grassi in Venice.
In
2009 , the anthological exhibition
Nespolo, ritorno a casa was set up at the
Museo del Territorio Biellese , which was followed by other retrospectives: at the Galleria Canci in
Lerici he set up a personal exhibition, at the
Museo Nazionale del Bargello in
Florence (2010), at
Palazzo Trinci in Foligno (
Nespolo. Ipotesi Antologica , 2010), at the Casa del Console Contemporary Art Museum in
Calice Ligure , at the Galleria dell'Accademia
Albertina in Turin (2010), at the
Museo Campari in
Sesto San Giovanni , and in numerous other public and private galleries.
He also collaborated with the
Brooksfield brand for a two-year stylistic intervention in the collections and communication (2009-2010). In 2010 he became an honorary member of the literary artistic movement
[1] of Turin. In March 2012 he received honorary citizenship of the city of
Santhià , where he spent his childhood and adolescence and where he carried out his first pictorial experiments.
There are numerous collaborations for the creation of advertising campaigns: among the many with
Campari ,
Piaggio and
Caffarel .
In 2016 he joined
Luca Desiata 's "Corporate Art" Manifesto together with
Alexander Ponomarev ,
Fernando De Filippi and other artists.
[2]
Ugo Nespolo still lives and works in
Turin today.