Franco Vimercati's 'Living Natures' at Galleria Raffaella Cortese, Milan

Galleria Raffaella Cortese in Milan celebrates its 25th anniversary with a solo exhibition of Franco Vimercati (1940-2001), marking a long-standing relationship that began with the gallery's inaugural show in 1995. The exhibition, titled 'Le nature vive di Franco Vimercati,' spans three spaces on via Stradella and presents a small retrospective organized by decades, with some intermingling to foster dialogue between periods. Vimercati's photographic work defies easy categorization as still life; his objects are treated with the dignity of human subjects yet remain pretextual, opening a space of meaning and form that extends beyond the frame. His language is spare but not essential—light, placement, environment, scratches, and reflections create a rich expressive range. In series of the same subject with slight variations, Vimercati records time methodically but not scientifically, avoiding claustrophobia. He distinguishes himself from 1970s conceptual photography, inducing a re-education of the gaze free from conditioning, yet without idealism, embracing shifts and deviations that deny literal vision.