Francesco Vezzoli has been making provocative and genre-breaking art—encompassing film and video, embroidery, sculpture, and photography; and often playing with notions of celebrity, glamour, and spectacle—for more than three decades. His new book, Francesco Vezzoli: Diva (Skira) , plays with iconic figures from pop culture, religion, and the golden ages of both Italian cinema and Hollywood, with Vezzoli embellishing portraits of Maria Callas, Greta Garbo, Bianca Jagger, Veruschka, and many others with embroidered tears, glittered eyebrows, and bloody noses.

Francesco Vezzoli, All About Bette (Homage to Francesco Scavullo) , 2003. B/W laserprint on canvas,metallic embroidery. 62 x 51 cm. Private collection. Courtesy of the artist. © Francesco Vezzoli by SIAE 2025

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