Otto volte due:
A window into contemporary Romagna photography
9 Sep–15 Oct 2022
Otto volte due presents a selection of new and recent work by eight contemporary Romagna photographers, affording insight into the unique cultural and artistic phenomena of the region.
These photographers are part of a vibrant artistic community across a network of small towns in Emilia-Romagna. Antonello Frongia, professor of photography at Roma Tre University, writes: ‘having trained with Guido Guidi and in a fertile climate of mutual exchange, these artists, born between 1963 and 1987, have honed a photographic and artistic culture that expresses itself through independent sensitivities, languages and research.’
At the centre of the exhibition is a new portfolio, Otto volte due*, comprising 16 C-type prints, two by each of the eight photographers, realised in collaboration with Imagebeeld Edition, Brussels. The portfolio includes a small book with further illustrations, alongside interviews with each photographer and an introduction by Frongia.
Guidi has lived in the region since the 1940s. His work eschews ‘the picture-postcard version of Italy, with its pretty countryside and medieval towns’, writes Charlotte Higgins, instead drawing into focus the ‘overlooked and ordinary’. Like Guidi, these artists work intuitively, in large format analogue photography.
The process, and ritual, of engaging with their daily landscapes is as important as the end result. They share a vision for looking more closely, and with care, at the landscapes and people that they know deeply. Otto volte due charts a conceptual lineage for Romagna photography, from Guido Guidi to the present day.
*Otto volte due is the second portfolio in the series ‘20x25’ published by Imagebeeld Edition in Brussels.
Artist biographies
Luca Nostri (b.1976, in Lugo) received a PhD in Photography titled ‘Place and Identity in Italian Photography through a study of the town of Lugo’. In 2005 he established Lugo Land – an independent art-photography cultural centre and publishing house that uses photography to research the concept of territory. Nostri’s photographs have been exhibited at Rencontres d’Arles in 2008, at Studio Museum, Harlem in New York in 2014, and Maxxi Museum in Rome in 2019. His book, Anselmo, was published by Linea di Confine in 2020.
Francesco Neri (b.1982, in Faenza). In 2014, he became a member and tutor at the AA School of Architecture in London, and he is Photography Professor at the Institute of Graphic Design in Faenza. In 2018 Neri won the first August Sander Prize for Portrait Photography of the Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne for his portrait study of farmers in his northern Italian homeland. His photographs are part of the permanent collections of the SK Stiftung Kultur, in Cologne, Fondation A in Brussels, MAXXI Museum in Rome and the Museum Reina Sofia in Madrid.
Guido Guidi (b.1941, in Cesena). His work was included in the seminal exhibition ‘Viaggio in Italia’, 1984, curated by Luigi Ghirri and has been shown at the Venice Biennale, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, Guggenheim Museum, New York, MAXXI, Rome. Guidi has had five solo exhibitions at Large Glass. His work is held in collections including the Bibliothèque National and Centre Pompidou, Paris; Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin and ICCD in Rome; Fondation A Stichting in Brussels; National Gallery of Aesthetic Arts in Beijing; Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montréal and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
Francesca Gardini (b.1981, in Ravenna). Since 2012, she has collaborated with the theatre company Teatro delle Albe, and has worked with Jonathan Frantini since 2009.Gardini’s photographs are part of the Fondation A Stichting collection in Brussels. In 2013, her photobook Una mattina was published as part of the project Dove Viviamo, curated by Osservatorio Fotografico.
Marcello Galvani (b.1975, in Ravenna) studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ravenna under Guido Guidi. In 2017 he exhibited at Photo London with Large Glass.Galvani has published books including Eggs and Asparagus (Skinnerboox, 2017) and Meteo (Sete Edizioni, 2020). His photographs are part of the permanent collections of MAXXI in Rome, the Fotomuseum in Winterthur, and the Fondation A Stichting in Brussels.
Cesare Fabbri (b.1971, in Ravenna) studied photography and urban planning at the IUAV in Venice. In 2009, Fabbri founded Osservatorio Fotografico, an experimental platform for research on photography, with Silvia Loddo. Fabbri’s book, The Flying Carpet was published by MACK books in 2017. His photographs are part of the permanent collection of the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris. Fabbri has exhibited twice with Large Glass: in 2019 alongside Mark Ruwedel, and in 2018 as part of ‘A Coin in Nine Hands’.
Alessandra Dragoni (b.1963, in Ravenna) worked for Magnum Photos, Paris, ABC Press photo, Amsterdam and Mondadori, Milan. Dragoni’s recent photobook, All the Flowers That you Plant, was published by Skinnerboox in 2021. Her work has been exhibited at Les Rencontres d’ Arles and Paris Photo, the Italian Institute of Culture in New York and Fotografia - Rome Photography Festival.
Nicola Baldazzi (b.1985, in Ravenna) In 2013 he began a collaboration with Veronica Lanconelli and Osservatorio fotografico, where his first book, Piccolo prontuario di fotografia segnaletica, was published. In 2017 his work was exhibited in Dove Viviamo, within Street Photography – A Tribute to Everyday Life at Øksnehallen, Copenhagen.
These photographers are part of a vibrant artistic community across a network of small towns in Emilia-Romagna. Antonello Frongia, professor of photography at Roma Tre University, writes: ‘having trained with Guido Guidi and in a fertile climate of mutual exchange, these artists, born between 1963 and 1987, have honed a photographic and artistic culture that expresses itself through independent sensitivities, languages and research.’
At the centre of the exhibition is a new portfolio, Otto volte due*, comprising 16 C-type prints, two by each of the eight photographers, realised in collaboration with Imagebeeld Edition, Brussels. The portfolio includes a small book with further illustrations, alongside interviews with each photographer and an introduction by Frongia.
Guidi has lived in the region since the 1940s. His work eschews ‘the picture-postcard version of Italy, with its pretty countryside and medieval towns’, writes Charlotte Higgins, instead drawing into focus the ‘overlooked and ordinary’. Like Guidi, these artists work intuitively, in large format analogue photography.
The process, and ritual, of engaging with their daily landscapes is as important as the end result. They share a vision for looking more closely, and with care, at the landscapes and people that they know deeply. Otto volte due charts a conceptual lineage for Romagna photography, from Guido Guidi to the present day.
*Otto volte due is the second portfolio in the series ‘20x25’ published by Imagebeeld Edition in Brussels.
Artist biographies
Luca Nostri (b.1976, in Lugo) received a PhD in Photography titled ‘Place and Identity in Italian Photography through a study of the town of Lugo’. In 2005 he established Lugo Land – an independent art-photography cultural centre and publishing house that uses photography to research the concept of territory. Nostri’s photographs have been exhibited at Rencontres d’Arles in 2008, at Studio Museum, Harlem in New York in 2014, and Maxxi Museum in Rome in 2019. His book, Anselmo, was published by Linea di Confine in 2020.
Francesco Neri (b.1982, in Faenza). In 2014, he became a member and tutor at the AA School of Architecture in London, and he is Photography Professor at the Institute of Graphic Design in Faenza. In 2018 Neri won the first August Sander Prize for Portrait Photography of the Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne for his portrait study of farmers in his northern Italian homeland. His photographs are part of the permanent collections of the SK Stiftung Kultur, in Cologne, Fondation A in Brussels, MAXXI Museum in Rome and the Museum Reina Sofia in Madrid.
Guido Guidi (b.1941, in Cesena). His work was included in the seminal exhibition ‘Viaggio in Italia’, 1984, curated by Luigi Ghirri and has been shown at the Venice Biennale, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, Guggenheim Museum, New York, MAXXI, Rome. Guidi has had five solo exhibitions at Large Glass. His work is held in collections including the Bibliothèque National and Centre Pompidou, Paris; Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin and ICCD in Rome; Fondation A Stichting in Brussels; National Gallery of Aesthetic Arts in Beijing; Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montréal and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
Francesca Gardini (b.1981, in Ravenna). Since 2012, she has collaborated with the theatre company Teatro delle Albe, and has worked with Jonathan Frantini since 2009.Gardini’s photographs are part of the Fondation A Stichting collection in Brussels. In 2013, her photobook Una mattina was published as part of the project Dove Viviamo, curated by Osservatorio Fotografico.
Marcello Galvani (b.1975, in Ravenna) studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ravenna under Guido Guidi. In 2017 he exhibited at Photo London with Large Glass.Galvani has published books including Eggs and Asparagus (Skinnerboox, 2017) and Meteo (Sete Edizioni, 2020). His photographs are part of the permanent collections of MAXXI in Rome, the Fotomuseum in Winterthur, and the Fondation A Stichting in Brussels.
Cesare Fabbri (b.1971, in Ravenna) studied photography and urban planning at the IUAV in Venice. In 2009, Fabbri founded Osservatorio Fotografico, an experimental platform for research on photography, with Silvia Loddo. Fabbri’s book, The Flying Carpet was published by MACK books in 2017. His photographs are part of the permanent collection of the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris. Fabbri has exhibited twice with Large Glass: in 2019 alongside Mark Ruwedel, and in 2018 as part of ‘A Coin in Nine Hands’.
Alessandra Dragoni (b.1963, in Ravenna) worked for Magnum Photos, Paris, ABC Press photo, Amsterdam and Mondadori, Milan. Dragoni’s recent photobook, All the Flowers That you Plant, was published by Skinnerboox in 2021. Her work has been exhibited at Les Rencontres d’ Arles and Paris Photo, the Italian Institute of Culture in New York and Fotografia - Rome Photography Festival.
Nicola Baldazzi (b.1985, in Ravenna) In 2013 he began a collaboration with Veronica Lanconelli and Osservatorio fotografico, where his first book, Piccolo prontuario di fotografia segnaletica, was published. In 2017 his work was exhibited in Dove Viviamo, within Street Photography – A Tribute to Everyday Life at Øksnehallen, Copenhagen.
Luca Nostri, Francesco Neri, Guido Guidi, Francesca Gardini, Marcello Galvani, Cesare Fabbri, Alessandra Dragoni, Nicola Baldazzi with Veronica Lanconelli
Enquiries
press: Edward Ball
sales: Charlotte Schepke
other: Large Glass
portfolio: Imagebeeld Edition
Enquiries
press: Edward Ball
sales: Charlotte Schepke
other: Large Glass
portfolio: Imagebeeld Edition