Gian Paolo Barbieri’s Fashion Photography
Last October the Milan Image Art Fair – the Photography and Design fair conceived by Fabio Castelli on 2011 – moved from its traditional location to Singapore, introducing a new international flavour to the event – Gian Paolo Barbieri’s Fashion Photography.
MATTEO BASILÉ, UNSEEN 1, 2014, INKJET PRINT ON COTTON PAPER, CM 100X70, ED 1/3 UNIQUE IN THIS SIZE, COURTESY GUIDI&SCHOEN
The MIA&D Fair has been held at Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre from 24th to 26th of the last October.
The aim of this new international branch was to
“broad the exposure of talented artists to Asia, with the concept of a unique art fair that has never been showcased before in Singapore” as Castelli said.
The founder and director of MIA&D explained that Singapore represented the perfect location for this overseas exhibition, because it established itself as “the central arts hub in Asia Pacific”.
The works of 120 established and emerging photographers were shown in the exhibition, and a special place was dedicated to Italian Fashion Photography, which was represented through the pictures by Gian Paolo Barbieri.
Barbieri was born in Milan, on 1938. He grew up in a family of wholesalers of textiles, breathing Fashion since his childhood.
His strong passion for Cinema and Theatre – clearly visible in his shoots – brought him to Rome on 1961, and then to Paris where he worked as assistant for the photographer Tom Kublin who used to work for Haarper’s Bazaar.
GIAN PAOLO BARBIERI, TATIANA SAVIALOVA FOR VALENTINO, 1996, PHOTOGRAPH IN ANALOG, CM 100 X 122, ED. 1/15 COURTESY 29 ARTS IN PROGRESS
In 1965 Barbieri started to work for Vogue Italia, establishing a long collaboration with Condé Nast and publishing his photo shoots also on the French and American Vogue.
The shoots by Gian Paolo Barbieri are created thorough a neat black and white, obtained by a distinct attention to shadows and lights that build compositions and subjects. The influence of Cinema is striking, especially in atmospheres where reality and fiction are combined in visionary noir sets that recalls the classic movies from the Fifties.
He worked together with the most important fashion labels like Valentino, Yves Saint Laurent, Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, just to name a few. He captured in iconic portraits the beauty of Audrey Hepburn, Veruschka, Monica Bellucci, Jerry Hall.
Credits & copyrights: Courtesy of Studio Barbieri
During the ‘90s he moved from the glossy world of Fashion to more exotic scenarios, traveling to Tahiti, Madagascar, Polynesia and Seychelles, translating the main feature of his style in pictures characterized by a unique balance between fashion photography and anthropological reportage in a sort of artistic escape.
Barbieri has been recognized as one of the most influential photographers of his time and his works are exhibited at the Victoria & Albert Museum, National Portrait Gallery of London and the Kunstforum in Vienna.
Gian Paolo Barbieri’s Fashion Photography
