Massimo Vitali
Vitali’s most enduring series, beginning in the 1990s, consists of large-scale, color photographs of vacationers and tourists enjoying idyllic days at the beach. Intense sunlight, endless expanses of water, and a cheerful confetti of travelers are visual signatures of his artwork. These scenes reflect a profound curiosity about the human condition, as observed through the shared pursuit of leisure. “The beach is a good place to try to understand the way we are, the way we behave,” Vitali asserts.
Vitali makes his photographs from a distant, slightly raised vantage point. This perspective allows the artist to record the activities of large groups of people across sweeping vistas. The interface he often records between ocean and earth is perhaps one of the most prized and universally comforting landscapes across cultures and time. In addition to the physical sensations these scenes evoke, the places where land and water merge suggest symbolic and physical journey for the subjects, a port linking possibilities.
These compositions reflect a deep awareness of Renaissance Humanism, recalling Protagorus’ postulation that “man is the measure of all things.” Peering into the pleasures, values, and social conventions of the present, Vitali’s images give paramount attention to human experience— integrating paradise with everyday concerns.
Vitali’s fascination with humanity extends beyond a generalized endorsement of earthly experience and leisure. In tradition with generations of Italian artworks before him, Vitali’s practice stresses the individuality and autonomy of his subjects. His unstaged and unmanipulated photographs embrace a veristic portrait style that does not camouflage or retouch “imperfections,” but rather reveals bodies on display and shows each feature as one that bestows its owner with distinction, personality, and essence.
In addition to beaches and summer resorts, since the 1990s Vitali’s oeuvre has grown to include scenes of people at ski resorts, piazzas, nightclubs, shopping markets, migration centers, and more. Regardless of the location or activity he is documenting, Vitali’s interest in how humans connect with each other and their environments is central.
Vitali was born in Como, Italy in 1944 and is currently based in Lucca, Italy. His work has been the subject of numerous solo shows internationally and is in the collections of leading museums and institutions including the Guggenheim Museum, New York, Museo Reina Sofia, Madrid, and the Centre Pompidou, Fondation Cartier, and Fonds national d’art contemporain, Paris. Monographs of Vitali's work include Beach & Disco (Steidl Verlag, 1999), Landscapes with Figures (Steidl Verlag, 2004), Landscapes with Figures 2 (Steidl Verlag, 2011), Natural Habitats (Steidl Verlag, 2011), and Entering a New World: Photographs 2009-2018 (Steidl Verlag, 2019). In 2020, Studio Massimo Vitali released a limited edition accordion book of 16 images made following Italy's spring lockdown, titled Leporello 2020: No Country for Old Men.
Vitali's first solo exhibition with Edwynn Houk Gallery will be on view from 5 May - 15 July 2022.
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Massimo VitaliCourmayeur Mont Blanc, 2000
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Massimo VitaliLes Menuires Quartett 4, 2000
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Massimo VitaliAmadores Blu triptych L, #1980-82-84, 2004
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Massimo VitaliVenezia Kiss, 2007
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Massimo VitaliCefalù Orange Yellow Blue, 2008
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Massimo VitaliTitus Arch Pine Tree, 2008
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Massimo VitaliButterfly Valley, Turkey, 2008
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Massimo VitaliScala dei Turchi Top Boat, 2009
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Massimo VitaliSan Vito lo Capo, Trailers Diptych, #3873-74, 2009
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Massimo VitaliScala dei Turchi Island 3, Sicily, 2009
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Massimo VitaliPoesia Tuffo, 2010
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Massimo VitaliTrittico Forum, 2011
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Massimo VitaliLas Catedrales, Low Tide, 2011
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Massimo VitaliPolignano a Mare, 2011
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Massimo VitaliLas Catedrales diptych, 2011
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Massimo VitaliSarakiniko Meltemi 1, 2011
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Massimo VitaliPreikestolen Green Dot, 2011
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Massimo VitaliSanta Cesarea Diptych, 2011
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Massimo VitaliLençois Laguna do Peixe, #4663, 2012
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Massimo VitaliWollman Rink, #4577-A, 2012
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Massimo VitaliSanta Croce Puppet Show, D0040, 2012
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Massimo VitaliSpargi Cala Corsara, 2013
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Massimo VitaliTropea Boat, 2015
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Massimo VitaliMyvatn Nature Baths, 2016
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Massimo VitaliCala Llosa South, 2016
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Massimo VitaliMasso delle Fanciulle Swimmer, D0034, 2017
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Massimo VitaliPlage des Catalans, #D0101, 2017
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Massimo VitaliRosignano Milk Maddalena penitente, 2020
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Massimo VitaliManarola Multi Jump, 2020
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Photographer Massimo Vitali on Swapping Blissful Bathers for Outdoor Furniture
Wallpaper* 11 May 2022Massimo Vitali is best known for captivating, large-scale scenes of beaches that capture people in moments of blissful leisure. Vitali’s career began as a photojournalist...Read more -
Massimo Vitali for The New York Times Magazine
26 September 2021Massimo Vitali photographs his native Tuscany for The New York Times magazine.Read more -
Massimo Vitali for The New York Times Magazine
Iceland's Water Cure 19 April 2016Massimo Vitali photographs Iceland's geothermal poolsRead more -
Sacred Space: Massimo Vitali at Home in a 14th-Century Church
6 March 2015Photographer Massimo Vitali in his renovated home inside an historic Italian church.Read more
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Art Basel 2022
Hall 2, Booth E5 16 - 19 June 2022Edwynn Houk Gallery is pleased to return to Art Basel and present works by Valérie Belin, Erwin Blumenfeld, Lynn Davis, Lalla Essaydi, Walker Evans, André Kertész, Mona Kuhn, Dorothea Lange, Dora Maar, Sally Mann, Abelardo Morell, Erwin Olaf, Irving Penn, Matthew Pillsbury, Robert Polidori, Man Ray, Herb Ritts, Paolo Ventura, Edward Weston, Jessica Wynne, and others.Read more -
Art Basel Miami Beach 2021
Miami Beach Convention Center, Booth A7 2 - 4 December 2021Edwynn Houk Gallery is pleased to return to Art Basel Miami Beach 2021 at Booth A7. See a preview here.Read more -
Paris Photo 2021
Grand Palais Ephémère, Booth C15 11 - 14 November 2021 -
The Armory Show 2021
Javits Center, Booth 217 9 - 12 September 2021Edwynn Houk Gallery is pleased to return to The Armory Show 2021 at the Javits Center from 9-12 September 2021.Read more