Mario Giacomelli

02 october 1992 - 29 november 1992

Curated by Ida Gianelli, Antonella Russo

 

One of the masters of contemporary photography, Mario Giacomelli (Senigallia, Ancona, Italy, 1925–2000) helped to put Italian photography on the map.

This exhibition covered the key moments of the artist’s career, from the portraits to the cycles that explore the tragedy of human existence.

In the extensive reportage project Verrà la morte e avrà i tuoi occhi (Death will come and will have your eyes, 1955–56, 1966–68, 1981–83), the artist captures the painful moments of everyday life in an old people’s hospice in his home town of Senigallia.

The series Scanno (1957–59), for which Giacomelli achieved international recognition, documents the people and places of a small town in the Abruzzi region of Italy.

The widely acclaimed series Io non ho mani che mi accarezzino il viso (I have no hands caressing my face, 1962–63), shot in a seminary in Senigallia, captures young trainee priests at “play” during their free time, and showcases Giacomelli’s hallmark use of high-contrast tones to produce striking graphic effects, exemplified here by the dramatic way the black-clad figures of the priests stand out against the stark white background.

Landscape is a recurring theme in Giacomelli, and his Paesaggi (Landscapes) project covers several decades. The photographs seek to reveal the reciprocal relationship between human beings and nature, and testify to the silent monumentality of agricultural land.

The photographs in the series Il mare dei miei racconti (The sea of my stories, 1984–90) are among his finest, and achieve an almost lyrical abstraction.

[L.F.]