MASSIMO VITALI: PHOTOGRAPHS 1995 - 2005

Opening: 16 June 2005, 7 p.m.

In conjunction with the Lentos Museum's notable collection of photographs, photography will also play a significant role in the museum's special exhibitions. In the summer of 2005 the museum presents a major exhibition of the work of the internationally renowned photography artist Massimo Vitali.

Massimo Vitali was born in 1944 in Como (Italy). He studied classical painting in Milan and London. Since 1979 he has been working as a freelance photo journalist and is today one of the most internationally successful Italian artists.

Vitali's interest as an artist centers on the profusion of activities seen wherever we live out our leisure culture. Overcrowded beach scenes, packed disco dance floors, shopping malls, parties and airport departure lounges are captured in huge photographic works. Vitali's chosen perspective is from a podium, four or five metres high.  The people in the photo seem untouched by and indifferent to the presence of the camera. The way the image is composed they appear to be caught in an infinite remoteness, despite the familiarity of the situations. Vitali's images are immediately recognizable, highly detailed photos of events which borrow deliberately from the historical painting of previous centuries.

Exhibitions (selected):
2000     Fotohof Salzburg
2002     Plateau of mankind, Venice Biennale
2004     Bonni Benrubi Gallery, New York
              Museum of Contemporary Art, Prato
              Hilger contemporary, Vienna

Prizes:
1967     Premio NIEPCE