Olivo Barbieri. Images 1978-2014
Curated by Francesca Fabiani
Marsilio Edition
Venezia 2015
216 pages
Italian/English edition
Published on the occasion of Olivo Barbieri retrospective at MAXXI, this catalogue is organized in seven sections corresponding to the thematic nuclei of the exhibition and document the artist’s research from its origins to the present day. From the photographs of Italian suburbs shot on the occasion of Viaggio in Italia (1980-1983) to China (1989-2014), a photographic narration that explores a period of 25 years and the principal transformations to which the country has been subjected, through to the “site specific” project (2003-2013) devoted to aerial views of the international metropolises.
Around 170 photographs, organized within a graphic layout conceived by Olivo Barbieri himself, present an overview of the contemporary social and urban transformations. In parallel, the introductory texts by Hou Hanru, Pippo Ciorra and Margherita Guccione and the critical essay by Francesca Fabiani, along with the rich extensive bio-bibliographical apparatus, offer an essential scholarly means of contextualising the artist’s career.
