Gravity and Other Substances

Internationally recognized Colombian artist Daniel Liévano uses visual notations to explore philosophical ideas in Gravity & Other Substances, a picture book for teens and adults.

Through various media, artist Daniel Liévano has dedicated himself to exploring the relationship between abstraction and storytelling. Here, he takes up happiness, truth, memories, reality, dreams, and gravity. In many ways, these concepts shape the rhythms, experiences, and facts of human life. Conceiving of them as substances, Liévano explores them as if they were tangible, solid presences in our lives. In doing so, he makes happiness subject to gravity and memory both molecular and embodied.

The exploration that makes up Gravity & Other Substances is published under Unruly, Enchanted Lion’s imprint of category-defying picture books for teens and adults.

Daniel Liévano is a well-known Colombian artist whose conceptual images have been featured in The New Yorker, Harper’s Magazine, and The Economist. His work is characterized by the exploration of themes that range from science and technology to psychology, literature, and poetry. Liévano’s signature illustration style—a fusion of abstract and figurative elements—invites viewers to discover what usually remains unseen. His fascination with conceptual thought has also brought him from image-making to writing, through which he explores the intricate relationships between semiotics, poetry, and representation. The Spanish-language edition of Gravity & Other Substances was awarded the Gold Medal by the Society of Illustrators of New York, the prestigious Seymour Chwast MA-g Award in Zurich, and the Award of Excellence of Communication Arts Magazine. In 2022, he was honored with the top prize at the World Illustration Awards, presented by the UK’s Association of Illustrators (AOI). Liévano lives and works in Bogota. Eugenia Mello is an illustrator, author, and art director from Buenos Aires, Argentina, based in Brooklyn, NY. Her work has been recognized by the Society of Illustrators of New York, Communication Arts, American Illustration, and the Art Directors Club (ADC) of New York. Among other accolades, she has received Gold and Silver medals from the Society of Illustrators and a Silver Cube from the ADC for Moving, a picture book she both wrote and illustrated. Since 2018, she has been working with Enchanted Lion Books as a designer, associate art director, and strategic planner. She teaches illustration at the School of Visual Arts and Queens College. Born in Washington, D.C. in 1989, Pablo Román is an English-Spanish translator and editor who lives and works in Colombia. He holds a double major in Philosophy and History from Universidad de los Andes and has worked as a translator and interpreter for over a decade. Román has also written on the concept of value in the work of Colombian philosopher Nicolás Gómez Dávila and is the cofounder of Librobjeto, an online bookstore specializing in English-language books. He lives in Choachí, Colombia with his wife and daughter.