Mario Giacomelli: La Gente, La Terra

Mario Giacomelli (1925–2000) was one of the most important artists of post-World War II Italy. He came from a working-class background and dropped out of school at age 13, first working in typesetting, then briefly serving in the Italian army. In 1950, Giacomelli established a printshop in his hometown of Senigallia, a small port town in Italy's Marche region. He bought his first camera three years later and began teaching himself the ins and outs of the darkroom.

Photography was a lifelong experiment for Giacomelli. Through innovative development techniques, he depicted both people and the landscape with sharp black and white contrast and psychological intensity. The anxieties, travails, and hopes of post-war Europe swirl around his subjects. The hills and vineyards of Southern Italy become akin to Abstract Expressionist canvases. All together, the resulting images provide a poetic portrait of the changing Italian countryside during the years of il miracolo economico italiano after WWII. Mario Giacomelli: La Gente, La Terra features 36 photographs printed from negatives taken in between 1955 and 1980, forming two comprehensive portfolios: La Gente (The People) and Paessagio (Landscape). All of the photographs in this exhibition are drawn from SBMA's collection. The portfolio Paessagio is a recent gift from Carol Vernon and Robert Turbin.

This exhibition is part of Giacomelli 100, an international celebration of Mario Giacomelli’s centennial.

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