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Who We Are:
Four Eyes With One Vision
Do you know the Balbusso Twins Artist Duo?
We are Anna and Elena Balbusso. We are an international award-winning Italian artistic duo based in Milan.
Our work explores the deep dialogue between our two souls—graphic and pictorial. It expands across illustration, visual narrative, fine art, and contemporary design. Driven by an unconventional and non-stereotypical vision, we approach every project with a high-quality perspective, much like the craftsmanship of haute couture.
©2000-2026 Anna and Elena Balbusso. All rights reserved.
All ©Balbusso twins images and content are copyrighted. No Machine Learning, AI. You may not use our ©images, our name (as authors), and content of this website (including any caption information, keywords or other metadata associated with content) for any machine learning and/or artificial intelligence purposes.The artworks above cannot be used for commercial purposes by any third parties without explicit permission from the copyright holder ©Anna and Elena Balbusso Twins. Violation of this right means an infringement of copyright law and is indictable.
Two Souls, One Creative Identity
Our unique creative collaboration was recently spotlighted by design icon Steven Heller. In our feature interview for PRINT Magazine (2026), titled “Four Eyes With One Vision”, he noted:
“Anna and Elena see their collaboration as a symbiotic process where they melt into a single multi-creative identity.” — Steven Heller, PRINT Magazine (2026)
Global Milestones & Elite Craftsmanship
From our studio in Italy, we transform literary masterpieces into rare works of art.
- Fine Press & Publishing: We create luxury, multi-awarded limited edition books.
- International Prestige: Our work has been recognized by the Hamilton King Award 2026.
- NYC Exhibition: Our solo exhibition is hosted by The Society of Illustrators in New York.
We bring rare craftsmanship and deep conceptual value to every international commission.
The Exhibition Catalog:
A Collector's Item
In conjunction with our major solo exhibition at the Society of Illustrators in New York, the official catalog "Balbusso Twins. Illustrating with Two Souls" has been released as an exclusive, limited-edition art book.
Beautifully designed by the legendary DJ Stout and Davian-Lynn Hopkins at Pentagram Design, this volume is a true must-have for art lovers and design collectors. The catalog is available worldwide at a very special price and can be purchased in-store at the museum in New York (@soi128) or online.
ABOUT US
ANNA AND ELENA BALBUSSO, known as Balbusso Twins, they are an award-winning Italian artist duo working internationally in the fields of illustration, art and design. After completing their studies at the “G. Sello ” art high school in their birthplace, Udine (Friuli Venezia Giulia Region), they graduated in Painting from the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan. They live and work in Milan. Their work has been published by major international publishers and companies throughout the world on various media. They've illustrated more than 50 illustrated books, including the luxury limited edition of The Great Gatsby for Beehive Books, the deluxe Folio Society editions of The Handmaid's Tale, Pride and Prejudice, and Atlas Shrugged. Their work has been featured in numerous publications, including The Economist, The New Yorker, The New York Times, The New York Times Book review, Reader’s Digest, and Corriere Della Sera.
In their career they received more than 100 international honors & awards, including #4 Gold Medals, a Silver medal and the Stevan Dohanos Award from the prestigious Society of Illustrators of New York, as well as #2 Joseph Morgan Henninger Awards Best of Show, a Silver, a Bronze of the SILA Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles; a Best of Show, a Gold and #2 Silver Awards of 3x3 The Magazine of Contemporary Illustration; #32 CA's Award of Excellence; the Victoria and Albert Museum Illustration Awards Best Book; two Graphis Platinum Design Awards, a Graphis Gold Design Award, a Graphis Silver Award from Graphis Inch.
In 2026, Anna and Elena Balbusso were honored with the prestigious Hamilton King Award, the highest honor presented by The Society of Illustrators, recognizing them as the first Italian artists in history to receive this award. This year also marks their major solo exhibition, "Balbusso Twins. Illustrating with Two Souls", at the Society of Illustrators in New York, with a catalog designed by DJ Stout (Pentagram). Additionally, they have been included in the landmark exhibition celebrating the 125th Anniversary of the Society of Illustrators (on view from May 16th to August 8th, 2026), where one of their artworks is proudly showcased. The twins expressed deep honor in being among the very few Italian artists permanently woven into the history of this great institution—a place they fondly consider their "home away from home". In Italy, they were honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award (Premio alla Carriera) by the Associazione Autori di Immagini (AI).
Their works have been exhibited internationally. The Norman Rockwell Museum has included Balbusso Twins in the illustration history among the illustrators of The Decade 2010-2020. They are part of the Tolerance project, the Tolerance poster travel show curated by artist-activist Mirko Ilic with famous artists and designers from all over the world.
Balbusso Twins have been featured in many prestigious publications worldwide. Renowned design critic Steven Heller was among the first to spotlight them in 2012 in The Atlantic, describing their work as images that are “enticingly Renaissance and eerily new-wave.” Over the years, Heller has continued to follow their career on PRINT Magazine’s "The Daily Heller", dedicating articles to their Epson Calendar 2024 Spectacular (“A Year to (Fondly) Remember?”) and an exclusive 2026 interview covering their major solo exhibition at the Society of Illustrators (“Four Eyes With One Vision”). Their work has also been featured in Graphis Journal #377, alongside several feature features on the Graphis Blog dedicated to their design projects. Furthermore, art historian Paola Pallottino included them in the volume “Le Figure per dirlo. Storia delle illustratrici italiane” edited by Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana Treccani.
Beyond their artistic work, they have served on prestigious international juries for Graphis, Communication Arts, 3x3 Magazine, and SILA. In 2026, they were members of the jury for the BCBF International Award for Illustration (Bologna Children's Book Fair).
Follow the Balbusso Twins at @balbusso_twins.
Some publishers we worked with:
Walt Disney Hyperion, Union Square, HarperCollins, Penguin Random House, Knopf Books, Simon and Schuster, Beehive Books, Candlewick Press, The Criterion Collection, Adaptive Books, Orbit Books, Tor Books, Farrar Straus and Giroux, Scholastic, The Creative Company, Reclam Verlag, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Holiday House Inc, Macmillan, Watkins Publishing, Suntup Editions, The Folio Society, Penguin Group, Headline Publishing Group, Editions Gallimard, Éditions Milan, Actes Sud Éditions, L’Autre Revue Transculturelle, Rizzoli Libri, Mondadori Ragazzi, Dea Agostini Group, Black Cat Publishing, Giunti Progetti Educativi, Einaudi Ragazzi, Edizioni El, Yeowon Media.
“We started drawing at the age of three and have never stopped. We drew everywhere—on kitchen walls, on the bedsheets, on ornaments… Drawing was the game we loved most of all.”
"ANNA started drawing first.
She drew the figures upside down and then turned the paper!
ELENA followed ANNA ……"
Elena and Anna’s first-grade notebooks.
Bronze Medal Mickey Mouse - Coin Prize Top Art
At seven years old, Elena won a bronze medal for her marker drawing of a campsite filled with tents and trailers. Anna was also awarded the same medal, having created wonderful drawings of her own.
Biografia
Anna ed Elena Balbusso (Balbusso Twins)
Anna ed Elena Balbusso, conosciute internazionalmente come Balbusso Twins, sono un pluripremiato duo artistico italiano che opera ai massimi livelli nel campo dell’illustrazione, dell’arte e del design. Dopo aver completato gli studi presso il Liceo Artistico “G. Sello” di Udine, loro città natale, si sono laureate in Pittura all’Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera a Milano. Vivono e lavorano a Milano.
La Visione Artistica
Guidate da una visione anticonvenzionale e non stereotipata, affrontano ogni progetto in un'ottica di assoluta qualità, accostabile all'alto artigianato dell'alta moda (haute couture). Il loro lavoro esplora il profondo dialogo tra le loro due anime, quella grafica e quella pittorica, espandendosi dall’illustrazione alla narrativa visiva, fino alle belle arti e al design contemporaneo. Il celebre critico d'arte Steven Heller (rettore della School of Visual Arts di New York) ha descritto la loro estetica su The Atlantic come un'opera “enticingly Renaissance and eerily new wave” (affascinantemente rinascimentale e misteriosamente new wave).
Editoria Internazionale e Grandi Clienti
Hanno illustrato più di 50 libri in edizioni di lusso e a tiratura limitata (fine press). Tra i loro lavori più celebri spiccano la Centenary Edition de L'assassinio di Roger Ackroyd (The Murder of Roger Ackroyd) di Agatha Christie per Suntup Editions (andata completamente esaurita in tutte le edizioni in tempi record), l'edizione limitata di The Great Gatsby per Beehive Books, i capolavori di Margaret Atwood per il Corriere della Sera, e le prestigiose edizioni de Il racconto dell'ancella (The Handmaid's Tale), Orgoglio e pregiudizio (Pride and Prejudice) e La rivolta di Atlante (Atlas Shrugged) per l'editore inglese The Folio Society.
Le loro opere sono apparse su importanti quotidiani, copertine e riviste globali, tra cui The Economist, The New Yorker, The New York Times, The New York Times Book Review, Reader’s Digest e il Corriere della Sera.
Oltre 100 Premi e Riconocimenti di Settore
Nel corso della loro carriera hanno ricevuto più di 100 onorificenze internazionali, tra cui:
- Hamilton King Award 2026: Il più alto riconoscimento conferito dalla Society of Illustrators di New York (assegnato per la serie del libro Graciela in the Abyss di Meg Medina, Candlewick Press). Sono le prime artiste italiane nella storia a ricevere questo prestigioso premio.
- Society of Illustrators (NYC): 4 Medaglie d'Oro, 1 Medaglia d'Argento e lo Stevan Dohanos Award.
- Premio alla Carriera: Conferito in Italia dall'Associazione Autori di Immagini (AI).
- Premio Andersen: Miglior Illustratore (34° Concorso della rivista Andersen, Genova).
- SILA (Los Angeles): 2 Joseph Morgan Henninger Awards (Best of Show), 1 Medaglia d'Argento e 1 Medaglia di Bronzo.
- 3x3 Magazine: 1 Best of Show, 1 Medaglia d'Oro e 2 Medaglie d'Argento.
- Communication Arts: 32 Awards of Excellence.
- Graphis Inc.: 2 Graphis Platinum Design Awards, 1 Graphis Gold Design Award e 1 Graphis Silver Award.
- V&A Museum (Londra): Victoria and Albert Museum Illustration Awards Best Book.
Mostre e Istituzioni Internazionali
Le loro opere sono esposte in tutto il mondo e inserite in importanti progetti storici:
- Il Norman Rockwell Museum le ha incluse nella storia ufficiale dell'illustrazione tra gli artisti di spicco del Decennio 2010-2020.
- Nell'anno delle celebrazioni per i 125 anni della Society of Illustrators di New York (2026), l'istituzione ha ospitato la loro grande mostra personale “Balbusso Twins: Illustrating with Two Souls”. Accompagnata da un catalogo firmato da DJ Stout (Pentagram), l'esposizione ha raggiunto la straordinaria durata di ben 6 mesi, grazie a un prolungamento concesso a grande richiesta (popular demand).
- Sono state incluse nella mostra storica per il 125° Anniversario della Society of Illustrators dove una loro opera è esposta con orgoglio, entrando permanentemente nella storia della prestigiosa istituzione di New York.
- In Italia hanno partecipato alla XXI Triennale di Milano nelle mostre TDM 9: W-Women in Italian Design e “Normali Meraviglie - La mano”.
- Fanno parte della mostra itinerante internazionale Tolerance Poster Show curata da Mirko Ilić e della mostra “Illustrazione per bambini: Eccellenze Italiane” della Bologna Children's Book Fair (selezionate tra i 18 più grandi artisti italiani).
Pubblicazioni, Didattica e Giurie
La storica dell’arte Paola Pallottino le ha incluse nel volume “Le Figure per dirlo. Storia delle illustratrici italiane dal '600 a oggi” a cura dell’Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana Treccani. Compaiono inoltre nei saggi dedicati all'illustrazione contemporanea dei professori Alan Male (Falmouth University) e Andrew Selby (Loughborough University) pubblicati da Bloomsbury UK. Negli anni sono state dedicate loro ampie monografie sul Graphis Journal 377 e su PRINT Magazine (all'interno della rubrica The Daily Heller).
Hanno inoltre fatto parte di prestigiose giurie internazionali per Graphis, Communication Arts, 3x3 Magazine, SILA e, nel 2026, della giuria del BCBF International Award for Illustration della Bologna Children's Book Fair.
Potete seguire il duo artistico su Instagram: @balbusso_twins
© Balbusso Twins. Tutti i diritti riservati.
Welcome to our Milan studio, the birthplace of our visual narratives. Discover how we blend traditional craftsmanship with digital innovation.
