Paolo Gioli (Sarzano, Rovigo, 1942) and Joan Fontcuberta (Barcelona, 1955) have always shared an experimental approach towards the research on Nature and photographic images. Adopting different procedures and tecniques, the artists put in discussion the conventional photography’ schemes, developing an approach that leads them to create artworks whose content and aesthetic are intellectually deep and innovative. In this occasion – as tribute for Paolo Gioli – Joan Fontcuberta, who is artist and curator of the exhibition itself, establishes boundaries between their creative processes, in order to make the observers read an inspiring dialogue between the two artists. The entire exhibition, developed in three large rooms of the Gallery, is conceived with the aim of allowing the visitor to compare the artworks for similar contents, methods and, sometimes, similar subjects. In the first room the visitor is welcomed by Fontcuberta’s homage to the masterpieces “View from a window” by Nicéphore Nièpce (1816) and “L’origine du Monde” by Gustave Coubert (1866), which have been revisited by the Catalan photographer through the digital tool “Googlegram”.

Always referring to Nièpce , Paolo Gioli’s polaroids of the Le Gras’ “window” transferred on drawing paper are showcased alongside three Autoanatomie whose analogue content was inspired by Courbet. The exhibition continues in the other room, always playing the game of references between the artists, with a selection of artworks from the series of Herbarium, Trauma, Deletrix by Joan Fontcuberta put in relations with Lastre, Xsconosciuti and Vessazioni by Gioli. All these pictures are characterized by the same attention to flora and fauna elements, using and revitalizing former photographs and to the theme of deletion and self- portrait. During the visit it is possible also to watch some videos of the artists.

Joan Fontcuberta (1955) is born in Barcelona. After his Communication Science degree (Autonomous University of Barcelona), the artist worked in the Marketing and Journalism fields and as university professor at the Fine Art Academy. From 1974 Fontcuberta is developing a personal creative language, alongside an intense critic, theoretical and curatorial spirit. His production and his theoretical approach are focused on several themes such as representation, knowledge, memory, science, authenticity, ambiguity and trompe-l’oeil, exploring documentary and narrative aspects of the photographical image among others things . Many of his publications have been awarded with international appreciations, among them: Herbarium (1985), Fauna (1988), Sputnik (1997). Recently the author also published “Landscape without Memory” (2005), “Googlegrams” (2005), “Through the Looking Glass” (2010), “Pandora’s Camera” (2010) and “The Fury of the Images” (2016), questioning the themes of Photography intersections and digital images. Fontcuberta has been author and contributor of several volumes, regarding history, aesthetic and pedagogy of Photography. Many exhibitions have been dedicated to this artist: to mention the most recent, Hasselblad Center (Göteborg, 2013), Maison Européenne de la Photographie (Paris, 2014), Science Museum, (London, 2014), Cosmocaixa (Barcelona, 2015), Museum Angewandte Kunst (Frankfurt, 2015), Canal de Isabel II (Madrid, 2015), Museo Universidad de Navarra (Pamplona, 2016), Museo Banco de la República (Bogotá, 2016. His artworks are present in important collection such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art (NY), San Francisco MoMA, Museum of Fine Arts (Houston), LACMA (L.A.), Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Center for Creative Photography (Tucson), International Museum of Photography at the George Eastman House (Rochester), National Gallery of Art (Ottawa), Folkwang Museum (Essen), Musée National d’Art Contemporain – Centre Georges Pompidou (Paris), Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam), MACBA (Barcelona), MNCARS (Madrid).

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