Federico Monzani
Federico Monzani is a Milan-based artist, illustrator and director, and the creator of Papaco. He is known as «the father of pop minimalism»: simple, colourful and ironic characters — ghosts, sharks, ducks, hens — that tell everyday life with a light touch and a hint of irreverence.
Who is Federico Monzani
Born in Milan, he graduated from the University of Milan in Cultural Heritage and then in Performing Arts and Multimedia Communication, with top honours (110 cum laude). From there, a path that spans illustration, graphic design, film, video and dance, always with the same outlook: curious, playful, direct.
The style: pop illustration, irony and minimalism
His language is made of essential shapes, solid colours and comic characters. For Federico, drawing is «the way I love to share my thoughts»: an invitation to look at every being and every thing as a small world worth telling. A way of seeing close to that of children and the Dadaists.
Where Whity, Nina and the Papaco characters come from
Many Papaco characters have a long history. «Whity» the ghost and «Nina» the alien already lived in 2017 in the solo exhibition Altre forme, altri luoghi in Rome, which later became an illustrated book. Today they live in different forms: to wear on T-shirts, to hang as prints and etchings, to collect as original paintings and art toys.
Collaborations in Milan
- CHIamaMILANO by Milly Moratti: illustrations for Emergency, Bookcity, EXPO, Bicycle Film Festival and other projects.
- Centro Studi Grande Milano by Daniela Mainini: an illustrated book on the fight against counterfeiting and the portraits for the «Le Grandi Guglie della Grande Milano» awards, including Ottavio Missoni, Gualtiero Marchesi, Stefano Boeri and Ferruccio de Bortoli.
- Graphic design for the City of Milan, MTV, Metroweb, Corriere della Sera, Il Sole 24 Ore, Missoni and many others.
San Siro, film and performance
He has a special bond with the Meazza stadium in San Siro: the graphics for the 2014 Notte Bianca, the signage for the UEFA Champions League final and Fuorigioco (2012, 54’), a medium-length film shot entirely inside the stadium. Written, directed and edited by Federico, with Ambra Senatore in the cast, it tells the story of a worker who imagines dances and dreams inside the Meazza; it won an award at FICTS and entered the archive of the Milano Film Network.
He also directed La Passeggiata, Voglio tornare sulla luna and the video L’arte attraverso una mela (Melart), presented at Festival Invideo and Fuorisalone 2013 and published on Repubblica.it. He has worked in film with Gabriele Salvatores, Marco Bechis and Maurizio Nichetti, and in dance as assistant choreographer for Sosta Palmizi, Teatro Valdoca, Abbondanza/Bertoni and Pippo Delbono.
Solo exhibitions
- Spensierata-mente — Spazio 74b, Milan, 21 February – 7 March 2017, curated by Ivan Pengo. A playful journey through objects, shapes and colours out of context, a kind of «visual socialism».
- Altre forme, altri luoghi — dolceVita Gallery, Rome, 16–25 March 2017. Paintings, engravings and videos populated by Whity and Nina; the exhibition became an illustrated book published by Made in Tomorrow (2017).
Papaco: the universe of pop characters
Papaco is the world created by Federico Monzani: colourful, irreverent characters that bring together art and fun, with a store in Milan on Corso di Porta Ticinese. The same universe gave rise to the book series Papaco Heroes (Nuova Editrice Berti, 2022–2023): Acqualand, La Spazzatura spaziale di Brillantia, Minaccia dal pianeta Sblamberg and Dreamfood Land. Federico also led the artistic redesign of the entire paediatric ward of the Santa Maria di Loreto Hospital in Naples.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Federico Monzani?
He is an artist, illustrator and director born in Milan, known as «the father of pop minimalism» and the creator of Papaco.
What is Papaco?
Papaco is the universe of pop characters created by Federico Monzani — including Whity, Sissy, Gigi, Tina and Nina — who live on prints, T-shirts, sweatshirts, etchings, original paintings and art toys.
Where can you find Federico Monzani's works?
Online at papacodesign.com and in the Papaco store in Milan, on Corso di Porta Ticinese.