Milan is preparing to host one of the most extensive and articulate photography initiatives in recent years, with the opening of the exhibition Il Colore (Color), scheduled from Oct. 8 to Dec. 2025 at Palazzo Fagnani Ronzoni. The exhibition, curated by THE POOL NYC, constitutes the first chapter of the project I tempi dello sguardo. 90 Years of Italian Photography in Two Acts, which aims to reconstruct an overall panorama of national and international photography of the 20th century, articulated in two consecutive moments. The overall project includes 194 works by 55 authors, both Italian and foreign, who helped define the history of photography through their vision and aesthetic approach.
The title refers to the authors’ attention to the chromatic component as a distinctive element of their work and at the same time invites the public to recover a more reflective time of observation, away from the excesses of contemporary visual production. The exhibition offers an itinerary of 115 photographs signed by 32 artists, in which the experimentation with color becomes a stylistic cipher and narrative tool. Among the Italians, historic names such as Luigi Ghirri, recognized for his ability to convey stillness and light in his landscapes, and Giovanni Chiaramonte, whose focus is on the hidden places of Venice, stand out. Franco Fontana, known for his geometric urban visions of the 1970s and more abstract series such as Piscina, interprets the landscape through color fields, transforming Italy into a kind of visual laboratory.
The exhibition itinerary also includes Guido Guidi, whose photography is characterized by the dimension of expectation and reflection, and Mario Schifano, who transfers the expressive freedom of painting into photography while maintaining constant experimentation with form and color. Paolo Gioli uses photographic material as a real material to be shaped, experimenting with alchemical techniques and manipulations that transform images into tangible objects. Leonardo Genovese captures fragments of reality through intense and revealing light, documenting natural phenomena such as the Lucanian “controra,” capable of etching bodies and deforming appearances. Finally, Rita Lintz transforms discarded elements into aesthetic objects, giving new dignity to salvaged materials. The exhibition also integrates works by international artists, including Denis Brihat, Wim Delvoye, Claus Goedicke, Béatrice Helg, John Hilliard, Tracey Moffatt, Jiang Zhi, and Wang Qingsong.
The second act of the project, scheduled from Jan. 16 to Feb. 28, 2026, will be dedicated to Black and White and will present prominent Italian authors such as Renato Di Bosso, Alfredo Camisa, Mario De Biasi, Mario Giacomelli, Antonio Biasiucci, Franco Vaccari, Mario Cresci, Luigi Erba, and Andrea Galvani, in dialogue with international photographers, including Elliott Erwitt, Jan Groover, Horst P. Horst, Michael Kenna, William Klein, and Minor White. The intent is to offer a comparison between different generations and approaches, highlighting how the language of photography has evolved over time while maintaining points of stylistic and conceptual continuity.
Throughout the opening period of the exhibitions, Palazzo Fagnani Ronzoni will also host a series of collateral initiatives designed to deepen the exhibition themes. There will be meetings with artists, historians and critics of photography, book presentations and themed evenings that will allow the public to enter into direct dialogue with the protagonists of the photographic scene. The project thus confirms the centrality of Italian photography in the world art scene, highlighting how research on color and expressive techniques has accompanied the construction of a visual language capable of affecting the public and the history of the discipline.
Among the artists featured in the first exhibition are Denis Brihat, Vincenzo Castella, Giovanni Chiaramonte, Mario Cresci, Wim Delvoye, Cosimo Di Leo Ricatto, Franco Fontana, Vittore Fossati, Andrea Galvani, Leonardo Genovese, Luigi Ghirri, Luca Gilli, Paolo Gioli, Claudio Gobbi, Claus Goedicke, Guido Guidi, Béatrice Helg, John Hilliard, Jiang Zhi, Luisa Lambri, Rita Lintz, Marcello Mariana, Tracey Moffatt, Brigitte Niedermair, Wang Qingsong, Mario Schifano, Davide Tranchina, Luigi Veronesi, Cuchi White, Silvio Wolf, Marco Zanta. The presence of such a large number of authors allows us to capture the many facets of color photography, from transfigured landscapes to conceptual manipulations of photographic material, presenting a comprehensive and articulate reading of the medium.
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| Color in Photography: Milan hosts 115 works by Italian and international masters |
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