29 Arts In Progress presents at Arte Fiera 2016 the solo show of Gian Paolo Barbieri, a celebration of elegance, the luxury of the human body and sensuality.
A selection of new artworks from the “Skin” collection, twenty original unique Polaroids never exhibited before, together with some of iconic fashion shots that span over forty years of photography.
‘skin’, a deep testimony of the human condition His last work, is introspective, almost metaphysical visions of memories, visitations, dedications, cultural experiences of which Barbieri has been a scholar and an interpreter for all his life.
It is as if now he wanted to give to his beloved instrument, the camera, the opportunity to reinvent images that he has already acquired over his life, images that left a mark in the long road that he has been following for years. Hence, these are no longer snapshots of sensuality; rather, they are descriptions of situations, moments, events stuck in his mind, memories of sensations he had in museums, experiences from night-time readings.
Skin is pure poetry, concealed in his mind for a long time. Images, which though shaped to the smallest detail, never lose the existence in the instant, breathe their current times and feel the pulse of life under their ‘skin’. This is the touch of the master. Making the watcher recall feelings, as in a déjà vu, dragging him into the world of his imagination, making him lose his way in a maze of double experiences, where the creator’s one and the watcher’s one blend together and give birth to emotions, as in a silent theatre, where the image is enough to express much more than a text read aloud.
Barbieri’s touch and what ruled the Hellenic ancient times for years: beauty.
In this way, the Narcissus becomes an important witness: like him, Barbieri also looks at himself in the mirror of water, and prefers to kill himself with his own beloved beauty, rather than betray his ideals.
polaroids, insight into the arttist career This special exhibition traces Gian Paolo Barbieri’s use of instant photography with twenty Polaroids taken in the last 30 years and never exhibited before. Included are portraits (like Monica Bellucci and Jerry Hall), figure studies, indigenous people in their environment and flowers. Many of these small, intimate photographs convey tenderness and vulnerability, others depict a toughness and immediacy. Unlike the highly crafted images Barbieri staged in the studio and became famous for, these disarming pictures are marked by spontaneity and invention. Together, they offer insight into the artist’s great career.
the historical masterpieces
A section of the show is devoted to fashion photography and its protagonists in which the theatricality of his sets has made Barbieri one of the favourite interpreters of Made in Italy, from Valentino to Dolce & Gabbana, from Missoni to Ferré, to name a few. Among the divas and top models we find Audrey Hepburn, Jerry Hall, Monica Bellucci. The centrality of bodies is finally elevated in some shots taken in tropical paradises of Tahiti, Madagascar and Seychelles, in which Barbieri describes places and distant realities with his impeccable taste meaning to combine spontaneity and style. Considered one of the best international fashion photographers, with a sublime aesthetic taste, his photographs are in many private and public collections, among the others the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Kunstforum in Vienna and the National Portrait Gallery in London. The installation of the exhibit will also include three sculptures of Paolo Anselmo interacting with the photographic language of Barbieri.

mpefm ITALY art press release