(cristoforo Mercati) Krimer Biography
Cristoforo Mercati (1908-1977), pseudonym of Krimer, was born in Perugia in 1908. As a young man he moved to Viareggio, where he lived for the rest of his life. He joined the futurist movement as a painter, writer and aeropoet, after meeting Filippo Tommaso Marinetti in 1924.
However, it will be the meeting with the futurist aviator Guido Keller that will introduce him to the passion for flying. After a stay in Paris, he collaborated with Enrico Prampolini on the creation of the first aerodance shows.
Returning to Viareggio, he joined the "Vàgeri" group, starting the fruitful relationship with Lorenzo Viani celebrated in the volume "Sodalizio con Viani" published in 1937.
In 1941 he obtained a position as inspector for the press and propaganda in Tripoli for the National Fascist Party. After his return to Italy, he was involved in organizing art exhibitions and other cultural initiatives promoted by the National Work Association.
After the First World War, with the Futurist phase long over, he abandoned his interest in painting, dedicating himself to the activity of a writer, poet and journalist. It will organize various cultural and exhibition activities for the Bottega dei Vàgeri art gallery in Viareggio and the Versilia Arts Center. Only in 1957, with the series of works called "Colorful Fantasies", did he return to dedicating himself to pictorial production. This phase constitutes the happiest and luckiest moment of his artistic activity. Krimer died in Viareggio in 1977.
