New releases

Trama – A Strategy Game with an Artistic Twist

Gianni Sarcone
trama boardgame 2

Back in the ’90s, my board game Trama made waves for its fresh take on strategy and design. Imagine the logic of chess, but with a twist: neutral pieces that both players can use. The board—plexiglass with screen-printed art—echoes the feel of an Op Art piece, while the Galalith tokens add tactile charm.

There are several design variants, with boards featuring different color schemes and patterns. Some versions include holes or extruded circular reliefs to securely hold marbles instead of tokens—offering a fresh, sensory-rich experience.

trama variant 1
trama variant 2

· Curious? The full rulebook (in French) is 👉 here.
· More about 👉 Trama.

If you’re a manufacturer interested in bringing Trama back to the table, feel free to reach out.

trama news

Hands-On Wonders: A Mathemagical Collection

Gianni Sarcone

Ever wondered what happens when math puts on a magician’s hat? These books are the distilled magic of my hands-on math workshops across Europe — from Paris to Palermo, Geneva to Ghent — where paper folded, minds twisted, and logic sparkled in English, French, and Italian!

Impossible Folding Puzzles

1) “Impossible Folding Puzzles and Other Mathematical Paradoxes” — a playful dive into mind-bending problems where nothing is quite what it seems. Can a puzzle have no solution… or too many? Dare to fold your brain.

Still available on Amazon.

2) “Pliages, découpages et magie : Manuel de prestidi-géométrie” — where math meets illusion to spark curiosity and creativity.
Perfect for teachers, students, and curious minds: touch, fold, cut… and let the magic unfold!
Available on Amazon.

2) “Pliages, découpages et magie : Manuel de prestidi-géométrie” — un livre où maths et illusion se rencontrent pour éveiller curiosité et créativité.
Pour enseignants, élèves et esprits joueurs : touchez, pliez, découpez… la magie opère!
Dispo sur Amazon.

Pliage decoupages

3) “MateMagica” —  They say there’s enough carbon in the human body to make 900 pencils… but just one is all you need for these clever puzzles!
Fun, surprising, and thought-provoking — because, as Martin Gardner put it, “Mathematics is just the solution of a puzzle.”
Now on Amazon.

3) “MateMagica” —  Si dice che nel corpo umano ci sia abbastanza carbonio per 900 matite… ma per questi rompicapi ne basta una!
Sorprendenti, divertenti e stimolanti — perché, come diceva Martin Gardner, “la matematica è nient’altro che la soluzione di un rompicapo.”
Disponibile su Amazon.

I write and illustrate my own books in five languages: English, French, Italian, German, and Spanish.
If you’re a publisher or literary agent seeking original, high-quality educational content that blends creativity with clarity, I’d be pleased to explore potential collaborations.

Apparition: The Face That Transforms

Gianni Sarcone

I’m pleased to announce that my work Apparition will be featured in the 6th volume of Taschen’s Library of Esoterica, set to release in early 2025.

This portrait, created by combining photographs of 50 different human faces, presents a ghostly image that endlessly shifts its features as you look at it. The effect is driven by the neural adaptation phenomenon, similar to Troxler fading, along with the brain’s face-recognition circuits, which complete the image.

You can explore this piece and more with prints available from my online gallery.

For a deeper dive, visit Spirit Worlds here to explore art, rituals, and myths from hidden realms.

Mystic Flying Bat

Gianni Sarcone

Mystic Flying Bat is a mixed-media artwork I created back in 2010. It was the starting point for a series of pieces in a similar style, some of which I screen-printed using different color palettes. With this work, I wanted to invite viewers to think about an intriguing question: What is movement?

What makes this kinoptic artwork special is the way it creates the illusion of motion. As you look at it, the black bat seems to flutter, expand, or shift. But here’s the fascinating part—if you stare at it long enough and then close your eyes, a white bat will appear in your mind!

Kinoptic designs, like this one, play with our perception, making still images feel alive. It’s all about the clever use of contrasting colors and the precise arrangement of shapes.

Curious about how to create something like this yourself? I’ve put together a tutorial you can check out.

If you’d like to own a print or canvas of Mystic Flying Bat, you can find them here.

Illusive Concentric Circles

Gianni Sarcone

My op art piece Trinacria (1997) features three black-and-white zig-zagging shapes spiraling together to create the illusion of interwoven concentric circles. These jagged, repeating patterns add a sense of depth to the piece and produce a subtle rotating effect that seems to shift as you follow each line with your eyes.

Prints and canvases of Trinacria are available in my online gallery.

Below, an animated version enhances the effect. By focusing on the center, viewers can observe virtual circles appearing to move inward or outward, adding to the piece’s dynamic sense of rotation and depth.

Quando l’arte incontra la scienza: l’enigmatica Moona Lisa

Gianni Sarcone

Sono felice di condividere che la mia opera congiunta Moona Lisa, realizzata in collaborazione con l’astrofotografa Marcella Giulia Pace, è ora esposta presso il Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia dell’Università di Firenze. Potete scoprire di più su quest’opera qui: Moona Lisa – UniFi. Moona Lisa sarà inoltre parte della mostra permanente di Enlighting Mind, un’esposizione dedicata alla connessione tra arte e scienza.

Il prossimo 13 dicembre, Marcella terrà un seminario al dipartimento dal titolo preliminare “Moona Lisa e l’enigma della luna”, dove esplorerà il mistero e la bellezza della nostra opera attraverso la lente dell’astrofotografia.

Per chi fosse interessato ad acquistare l’opera sotto forma di stampa, potete farlo nella mia galleria online: Redbubble.

Moona Lisa

Gianni Sarcone

In 1997, I reimagined Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa through a system of 142 color beads, each precisely positioned at the nodes of an invisible two-dimensional triangular grid. Up close, the pattern appears abstract, yet from a distance, the arrangement resolves into the familiar features of the portrait, inviting viewers to recognize the image through perception and suggestion.

hidden mona lisa
Hidden Mona Lisa (1997), © Gianni A. Sarcone
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Perceptual Nexus: A new philosophy of perception

Gianni Sarcone

Presenting a sneak peek of my upcoming philosophical book on perception.

In this exploration, I dissect the dynamic interplay between our “self,” the elusive “perception sphere,” and the external world. Operating independently, the perception sphere lacks self-awareness, creating a symbiotic relationship with the self, which, in turn, relies on the sphere for perceiving both itself and the external world.

Eager to discuss further with potential publishers.

“Enigma”, Paradoxical Volumes

Gianni Sarcone

In these minimalist op art works, I explore geometry as metaphor, using the hexagon as a building block for cubes and other regular solids. The forms appear stable and believable, yet they are impossible. Their contradiction isn’t obvious at first; it reveals itself only when the eye slows down and follows the structure closely. By merging incompatible viewpoints and softening the boundary between inside and outside, the drawings turn logic against itself. The more ordinary the form looks, the stronger the effect—these objects are meant less to trick the eye than to unsettle the mind and challenge our sense of space.

Enigma 1: Available as fine prints and t-shirts.

The two drawings displayed above and below combine paired tribars to form an impossible isometric cube, where form and illusion lock into a single structure.

Enigma 3: Available as fine prints and t-shirts.

Here, the “volume” turns itself inside out, quietly echoing the logic of a Klein bottle and unsettling the usual distinction between interior and exterior.

Enigma 2: Available as fine prints and t-shirts.

I am currently in the process of writing an informative book titled “Mastering Optical & Geometric Art: A Journey to Captivating Creations.” With a length of 136 pages, this book serves as an engaging guide to creating visually striking optical art and intricate 2D and 3D patterns. If you are interested in exploring further, I invite you to connect with me on Amazon.

Op Art Metal Bookmarks

Gianni Sarcone

As an artist, I enjoy including subliminal messages or figures in my work. My paintings, photographs and collages play on the foreground and background relationship of our visual perception and represent common or iconic faces the viewer has to rediscover.

In this magical bookmark of my creation, a portrait of M. L. King appears when held over a blank page or up to a light. From his famous words, we are reminded that, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.” A neat gift available from Art of Play.

While in this one below, a portrait of Gandhi appears when held over a blank page or up to a light — a subtle reminder to read with intention and “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Still available from my partner Art of Play.