Luigi Ghirri's Architecture Photography at Milan Triennale

The exhibition 'Luigi Ghirri. Il paesaggio dell’architettura' at Triennale Milano presents 350 photographs taken between 1983 and 1992, originally commissioned by the architecture magazine Lotus International. The show is structured by neon signs dividing sections such as 'Un’idea dell’Italia', 'La grande pianura', 'Nel giardino', 'Il percorso', 'Nel progetto domestico', 'La Triennale e il parco', and 'Atlante metropolitano'. A ramp at the entrance creates an artificial elevation, offering an overview of Ghirri's mature work on landscape and architecture. The central section displays original materials from 'Paesaggio italiano', a Lotus notebook published for a 1989 exhibition in Reggio Emilia, featuring city views of Mantua, Trani, and Fidenza at different times of day. Ghirri's innovation lies in linking representation of space to time, as he stated: 'Photographing a square at dusk is different than photographing it with the right light to highlight its architectural structure.' Another section, 'La grande pianura', focuses on Ghirri's photographic services for Aldo Rossi's projects in Modena and Parma, including the Modena cemetery (1983), which marked the beginning of his collaboration with Lotus and a shift from beautiful images to critical interpretations of place. The exhibition emphasizes the interplay between editorial commission, architectural commission, and autonomous research in landscape photography.