Biografia

Rosso, pseudonym of Michele Ciro Franzese (Naples, January 31, 1981) is an Italian visual artist. Creator of the Urban and Street Art project "Crapitalism".

2000s
In the early 2000s, his creative activity was based on the fusion of experimental graphic languages and video art.

In 2004, he created the artwork for the indie rock group El-Ghor’s album Dada Danzè. A graphic project inspired by Dadaism. He directed the music videos for the singles Danzè and Sans Lumiere. Danzè was a finalist at the PVI (Italian Music Video Award) in the 2006 edition, in the independent section. The video was presented on Rai Uno during the program Obiettivo Corto and published as multimedia content in various international magazines. Sans Lumiere was in the running for the 2008 edition of the Independent Music Video Award and other short film-themed festivals.

As a VJ, starting in 2004, he performed under the pseudonym Rosso with artists such as Tarwater, Matmos, Tujiko Noriko, Ulan Bator, often alongside the musician Muhe (Luigi Cozzolino). The electronic music duo Muhe vs Rosso was active until 2007.

In 2005, he won the international competition organized by MTV and Motorola U-Load.

In April 2006, he began an experience at MTV UK in London, where he created promo videos for the TV show Barrio19, a television format broadcast worldwide.

In May 2006, the music video for the single My Winter Vacation by Populous feat Doseone was released for the cult German music label Morr Music. The music video enjoyed moderate success and good TV rotation in Italy, as well as participating in numerous competitions and being published in books and international magazines, such as IdN Magazine (V.11, N.4.).

The music video Tutto è Fermo by rapper Paura was released on November 19, 2006. The video was one of the first in Italy to be made with motion graphics, allowing it to be featured on music channels like MTV Italia and All Music despite being an audio-video genre that is not very “pop.” The project was cited in issue 6 of Basement magazine.

In 2006, he directed the music video Frammento di sole for the hip hop group I Fluxer, founded by DJ scratcher and producer Tayone.

From March 2006 to April 2007, he had his own column titled “Web” in the Italian magazine Kult Magazine (Edizioni Pem).

In this decade, there were numerous publications in international magazines and books or exhibition catalogs where illustrations, videos, and interviews with Michele Ciro Franzese were present. IdN Magazine (IdN, Singapore), Basement Magazine, Grafuck Book vol 2 (Me Me, London), Tres Logos (Gestalten, Berlin), GQ (Condè Nast, Italy), Fashion Wonderland (Victionary, Hong Kong), World One Minute (Vice Versa, Amsterdam).

Michele's first publication dates back to 1993, when at the age of 12, one of his illustrations was published in the official Swatch magazine.

In the March 2007 issue V14n3, the international design magazine IdN dedicated two pages to Michele Ciro Franzese aka The Red Is Love’s work. The interview discussed the influence of fashion and the fashion universe on graphics and vice versa.

In 2006, he began a creative partnership with musician Neffa, creating the cover for the single La notte, the third extract from the album Alla fine della notte.

In February 2007, Neffa invited him to create the cover of Passione, the soundtrack of the film Saturno Contro by Ferzan Özpetek.

His graphic and video works were present in Attraversamenti in September 2007 in Trevi and Videominuto Pop Tv in Prato. For the 15th edition of Videominuto Pop Tv presented by Paolo Ruffini, he created the entire video graphics project for the festival.

Since 2007, Michele Ciro Franzese has become the creative and artistic director of various international fashion brands, creating European advertising campaigns. He also served as marketing manager for brands such as: Antony Morato, Fracomina, Wycon, Franklin & Marshall.

In 2008, for GQ Italia magazine, he created an advertising page for the Nike brand, featuring the BMX athlete Nigel Sylvester.

In the same year, he created promo videos for the retail of the Alcantara brand and the car manufacturer Mercedes and was cited in the One Minute Foundation (Amsterdam) publication with the video “Onirico.”

Also in 2008, he was selected by BMW for the OneVision creative project, curated by architect Fabio Novembre for the launch of the BMW Series 1. For which he created a motion graphics video titled “DejaVu: MyDay MyDay.”

In the August 2008 issue of GQ Italia, Michele (p. 54) was presented as one of MySpace's most promising designers.

On June 19, 2009, Neffa's sixth album, Sognando Contromano, was released, with the cover created in collaboration with Luigi Cozzolino.

TU’ te ‘iettà, from 2009, is the last music video that Rosso directed. The track is by rapper ShaOne, a member of the historic hip hop group La Famiglia. The video was created in collaboration with Michele Pesce (We Like the Fish) and Vincenzo Onnembo.

All productions from the early 2000s are characterized by the pseudonyms the red is love and rosso.

2010s
The IdN™ publishing house in Hong Kong, for its “15th Anniversary” in October 2010, published a celebratory book titled What do you love?. Rosso created the opening title video for the DVD contained in the volume.

In March 2011, during the 24th Grand Prix of Advertising, he was awarded by Piero Chiambretti for the TV commercial Ten Seconds, for which he was the art director with Rino Sorrentino. The TV commercial was first in the Un giro avanti section. The video was directed by director Maki Gherzi and music by musician Stylophonic. Ten Seconds repeated its success with first place at the Key Awards in the Luxury & Beauty section.

The hip hop crew Funky Pushertz commissioned Rosso to create the artwork for their album La grande abbuffata in 2013.

In 2013, his collaboration with Neffa was consolidated with the creation of the covers for the single Quando Sorridi and the album Molto Calmo.

As creative director and marketing manager for international fashion and cosmetics brands, during this decade, he produced and designed advertising campaigns with top models such as Simon Nessman, Marlon Teixeira, Luke Worrall, Josh Beech, Dudley O’ Shaughnessy, and Tobias Sorensen. He also organized events with names such as Albertino, Radio Deejay, Benny Benassi, Skin, Martin Solveign, Cassius, Pete Tong, Paola Maugeri, and Francesco Sarcina.

In February 2014, he moved to Boston, United States, where he studied American street art up close.

In December 2015, two solo exhibitions were held, We are all migrants in San Giuseppe Vesuviano (Rosso's hometown) and Helping Hands #1 in Castellammare di Stabia.

In 2016, he designed the covers for Neffa's single Sigarette and the album Resistenza, with which the singer participated in the 66th Sanremo Festival. Through the cover of Neffa's single Colpisci, Rosso Michele Ciro Franzese officially presented his street art project “Crapitalism.”

With Crapitalism, topics such as integration and consumerism are addressed. The choice of a pop style and the juxtaposition of iconic subjects attract and invite reflection. Rosso created sticker art and street collage interventions in Italy in Milan, Ferrara, Venice, Verona, Sorrento, and Naples. In Europe in London, Bristol, Edinburgh, Berlin, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, and Frankfurt. In the United States in Miami, New York, and Boston.

The Crapitaleaf canvas exhibition was held in Seiano on May 19, 2018.

2020s
He was a lecturer in “Graphic Design for Fashion” at the Higher Institute of Design (ISD) in Naples and held masterclasses on “Editorial Graphics and Typography” at the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Naples Federico II. In February 2020, he held a workshop at Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland, on the theme “Music Merchandising & Fashion Business.”

Rosso created the graphic project for Livio Cori's second album, Femmena. The album was released in two parts between September and October 2020. This project rekindled the flame for creativity in the service of music for the designer, who from 2021 to 2023 created album/single covers and managed communication for various artists. The list includes Heir, Santachiara, Mike Lennon, Naska, Simone Panetti, Andrea Blanc, Benny the Butcher, Coast Contra, and Muschio Selvaggio, the podcast by Fedez and Luis Sal.

On February 12, 2021, the single Aggio Perz o Suonno by Neffa feat. Coez was released, produced by Tayone. Rosso created both the artwork for the single and the album AmarAmmore, released on March 23. A limited edition vinyl of the album containing his surrealist-themed illustrations was produced.

Over the years, Michele Ciro Franzese has created numerous brands. On November 24, 2020, the restaurant Re Santi e Leoni, for which he created the corporate identity project, was awarded a Michelin star.

In recent years, the artistic activity related to the Crapitalism project has intensified with the creation of limited editions and urban guerrilla activities. To be mentioned is the C3LEBRATION series, dedicated to the victory of the third championship of the Italian Serie A team SSC Napoli.


Exhibitions
Solo (Italy)
2015 - We are all migrants - San Giuseppe Vesuviano, 26.12
2015 - Helping Hands #1 - Castellammare di Stabia, 27.12
2018 - Crapitaleaf - Seiano, 19.5

Collettive
2005 - Design Edge - Singapore, 10.11 / Catalogue pubblication
2006 - Creatives Are Bad [31] - Salerno, 28.7 / Catalogue pubblication
2007 - Attraversamenti - Trevi, 1.9 / Catalogue pubblication
2007 - Videominuto Pop Tv - Prato, 6.9 / Catalogue pubblication

Awards
2005 - U-Load - MTV NETWORK / 1st
2011 - Gran Prix della Pubblicità - Un giro avanti / 1st
2011 - Key Awards - Luxury & Beauty / 1st

Musical Curiosities
Under the pseudonym RossoRosso, between 2003 and 2004, he released two independent and self-produced EPs, Demo Scfiammato and Brivido. In the first work, the influences of J Dilla are accompanied by the sound of projects like Cinematic Orchestra, Nitin Sawhney, and Roni Size. The second, Brivido, more mature and focused, explores Glitch Music. Both works are accompanied by the voice of Dy Darshan.

In 2010, he sponsored the first tour of Videomind's album Afterparty, the group composed of Clementino, Paura, and Tayone.

In October 2012, he sponsored the dubstep remix of Fa’ Ammore Cu’mme by Almamegretta and Raiz produced by Tayone.

External Links
^ Premio Videoclip Italiano 2006, Cinespettacolo.
^ Videoclip Indipendente Italiano 2008, Campania Rock.
^ O’ Curt Rassegna 2007, Caserta News.
^ Rassegna O’ Curt 2009, Cinema Italiano.
^ Festival O’ Curt 2009, Freakout Magazine.
^ Intervista: El-Ghor 2007, Freakout Magazine.
^ Selezione video rassegna corto 2007, Freakout Magazine.
^ Biografia Muhe 2005, Rockit.
^ Tarwater + Muhe vs Rosso, Live @velvet 2005, Freakout Magazine.
^ Intervista El-Ghor 2007, Rock Lab.
^ MTV Motorola U-Load - Spot Tv 2004, Youtube.
^ MTV Load contest 2004, Arcstreet.
^ Intervista Populous 2005, RapManiacZ.
^ Intervista Populous 2005, Freakout Magazine.
^ Comunicato stampa ‘O Curt 2005, Rockol.
^ Speciale O’Curt 2005, Freakout Magazine.
^ Tam Tam Digifestival 2007, Positano News.
^ Rassegna del cortometraggio ‘O Curt 2007, Freakout Magazine.
^ IdN v14n3: Fashion Graphics Issue 2007, Idnworld.
^ Attraversamenti Festival 2007, Exibart.
^ Attraversamento Programma 2007, Parmadaily.
^ Videominuto Pop Tv Comunicato Stampa 2007, Exibart.
^ Videominuto Pop Tv Programma 2007, Yumpu.
^ Videominuto 2007, Nove Firenze.
^ VideoMinutoPopTv 2007, UndoNet.
^ OneVision Serie 1 2007, Bmw Group.
^ OneVision Autori 2008, Bmw Group,
^ OneVision Digital Art Prize 2008, Idranet.
^ Opening for IdN 15th Anniversary 2010, Idnworld.
^ IdN 15th Anniversary Edition 2009, Issuu.
^ Creatives are bad - Intervista 2006, Spot and web.
^ Michele Franzese - Fashion Specialist 2013, Idnworld.
^ La nuova moda napoletana 2012, Pambianco.
^ Esce oggi “Molto calmo” 2013, Sony Music.

The artistic production of Rosso | Michele Ciro Franzese can be viewed by downloading the digital version of the biographical volume "Crapitalism: XX Years!". This will allow you to take part in his twenty-year journey in the fields of urban art, graffiti, and street art. From his beginnings in Naples, throughout Italy, to "covering" the major cities of Europe and the United States.