Un été italien

As the cradle of the Renaissance and the hub of the Grand Tour, Italy has always fascinated artists. The land of Dante has had a profound influence on the European imagination, and has provided inspiration for painters and filmmakers. But what about photographers?

Italian photography seems to have been ignored for a long time, but the country is now burgeoning with fresh creativity and vitality. Not only is Italy rediscovering its own photographers, it is also developing its own specific identity through more recent work, for example that of Giacomelli and Luigi Ghirri.

Anna Rosa and Giovanni Cotroneo's collection of pictures from the 1950s to the present includes both classic works and new talent. The couple always tried to link photography, video and installations, and the exhibition ends with an original interactive piece by Alfredo Pirri, a tribute to 'writing with light'. The Gabriele Basilico exhibition gives us an insight into the career of an artist whose work is both classical and modern, and who deals with city architecture and Man's place in the urban landscape. This theme also runs through Francesco Jodice's work, a series of life-size photos of people doing everyday, stereotyped things in the heart of the city.

Finally, Patrizia Mussa's 'La Buona Ventura', inspired by Caravaggio's famous painting, includes portraits of Italians who have chosen Paris as a place to live and express their talent and 'joie de vivre'.

The Spanish artist Angel Marcos invites us to Cuba: a tribute to the Latin dimension in our culture, always ready to offer Europe its particular sounds and colours.

Jean-Luc Monterosso Director of the Maison Européenne de la Photographie

Pressetext

Un été italien / An Italian Summer
Collection de Anna Rosa et Giovanni Cotroneo

mit Claudio Abate, Antonio Biasiucci, Vincenzo Castella, Elisabetta Catalano, Luciano d´Alessandro, Bruna Esposito, Franco Fontana, Luigi Ghirri, Mario Giacomelli, Francesco Jodice, Mimmo Jodice, Raffaella Mariniello, Patrizia Mussa, Paolo Mussat Sartor, Luigi Ontani, Vettor Pisani, Alfredo Pirri, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Ferdinando Scianna, Grazia Toderi, Paul Thorel, Paolo Ventura, Silvio Wolf