Massimo Vitali (Italian 1944)
Sacred Russian Pool, #3140, Turkey, 2008
chromogenic print flush-mounted on Dibond behind plexiglass
signed with initials, titled, dated and numbered '1/6' (on the separate artist's label), from the total edition of 6 + 2 AP
180 x 220 cm.

Condition: Colours slightly faded, otherwise in very good condition.

Notes: Massimo Vitali’s journey with voyeuristic large-scale photographs of places of leisure, and beaches in particular, started in 1995. The theme has political and sociological undertones and it originates from Berlusconi’s election back in 1994. Massimo wanted to simply see the people who voted for the controversial media tycoon and ‘look them in the face’. The beach seemed to be a perfect place to do so. Over the years, it has proven to be the best habitat to study human nature. Vitali’s photographs are always taken from a tall scaffolding built especially for this very purpose. This offers a safe and isolated vantage point to take photographs. It is removed enough to prevent people from being bothered by someone taking pictures of them from afar, and it certainly adds to the critical standpoint and creates a sense of detachment. The photographs are neither edited nor staged. The viewer becomes an all-encompassing observer of a real-life moment in time on the beach, where every photographed individual, a couple or a group tells a different story, while all together are merely a symptom of social phenomena. Massimo Vitali hands the criticism of consumerist society to us on a silver platter via the lens of a large-format film camera.


Provenance:
Brancolini Grimaldi Gallery, Florence.
Acquired at the above by the present owner.

Literature:
M. Vitali, Natural Habitat, Steidl, Göttingen, 2011.

Est: € 12000-16000