From March 5 to July 19, 2026, Palazzo Pallavicini in Bologna hosts a major anthological exhibition dedicated to Ruth Orkin (Boston, 1921 - New York, 1985), American photojournalist, photographer and filmmaker, among the most significant figures in twentieth-century photography. The exhibition Ruth Orkin. The illusion of time, curated by Anne Morin and organized by Pallavicini srl by Chiara Campagnoli, Deborah Petroni and Rubens Fogacci, with text coordination by Francesca Bogliolo, is produced in collaboration with diChroma photography. The exhibition also enjoys the patronage of the Municipality of Bologna, FIAF - Federazione Italiana Associazioni Fotografiche and AIRF - Associazione Italiana Reporters Fotografi.
The exhibition includes 187 photographs, two cameras and a selection of significant documents, tracing the artistic and professional evolution of one of the most influential protagonists of 20th century photography, highlighting her central role in the history of this medium.
For Ruth Orkin, the construction of the visual narrative is based on a dynamic sequence of images, a narrative approach that emerges with particular force in the evocative Road Movie series, made in 1939 during a bicycle trip from Los Angeles to New York. The link to the language of film is equally evident in the series From Above, in which Orkin observes and photographs everyday life by looking out of a window, transforming the street into a natural stage. The people portrayed, unaware that they are being observed, assume the role of protagonists in a visual narrative marked by the alternation of movement and stillness. Also of great fascination are the portraits of famous figures such as Albert Einstein, Marlon Brando, Robert Capa, Alfred Hitchcock and Orson Welles, photographs that testify to the author’s extraordinary ability to narrate individuals and contexts with immediacy and incisive expressive force.
Today the work of Ruth Orkin, recognized as one of the most important photojournalists of the 20th century, is reread in the light of new critical perspectives, restoring full relevance to a production that has left a profound mark on the history of photography.
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| Bologna, Palazzo Pallavicini will host a major anthological exhibition on Ruth Orkin, 20th century photojournalist and photographer |
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