Fortunato Depero (30 March 1892 – 29 November 1960) was an Italian futurist painter, writer, sculptor, and graphic designer. Biography Although born in Fondo or in the neighboring village of Malosco, according to other sources (in the Italian Trentino region, at that time the County of Tyrol in the Austrian-Hungarian empire), Depero grew up in Rovereto and it was here he first began exhibiting his works, while serving as an apprentice to a marble worker. It was on a 1913 trip to Florence that he discovered a copy of the paper Lacerba and an article by one of the founders of the futurism movement, Filippo Tommaso Marinetti. Depero was inspired, and in 1914 moved to Rome and met fellow futurist Giacomo Balla. It was with Balla in 1915 that he wrote the manifesto Ricostruzione futurista dell’universo ("Futurist Reconstruction of the Universe") which expanded upon the ideas introduced by the other futurists. It sought the abstract equivalent for all forms and elements of the universe. The goal was to make the universe "more joyful" through an integral recreation. In the same year he was designing stage sets and costumes for a ballet. In 1919 Depero founded the House of Futurist Art in Rovereto, which specialised in producing toys, tapestries and furniture in the futurist style. In 1925 he represented the futurists at the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes (International Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts), and presented a Futurist Hall at the Monza Biennial. In 1927, together with his friend, advertising agent and publisher Fedele Azari (Dinamo-Azari), Fortunato Depero designed Depero futurista 1913–1927 – the so-called "bolted book" – which was printed in letterpress with his direct supervision and involvement by the Mercurio print works of Rovereto. Depero futurista 1913–1927 was a commercial book to be sold, to promote and document the work of Depero, and to legitimise him as an artist. It was a showcase portfolio relating to a specific period (1913–1927), but also an atypical and pioneering artwork in the form of a book, an ideological declaration. It is a work that celebrates Depero the artist, graphic designer and artisan, a blend described as ‘total fusion’ by Giacomo Balla and Depero in their manifesto of 1915 Ricostruzione futurista dell’universo. 1928 saw Depero move to New York City. From this year to 1930, his works were not successful. The city was still reeling from the effects