Mario Cresci’s Tripartite Exhibition at Castello Gamba Revisits Valle d’Aosta’s Material Culture
The exhibition 'Mon Cher Abbé Bionaz! Mario Cresci per la Valle d’Aosta' opened the 2023 season at Castello Gamba in Châtillon, curated by Luca Fiore. The show draws from the regional collection amassed over sixty years by the Autonomous Region of Valle d’Aosta, largely through the Ufficio Mostre founded in 1984 by Anna Ugliano and directed by critic Janus (d. 2020). Cresci first photographed the region in 1990 as part of a survey on rural life alongside Luigi Ghirri and Gabriele Basilico; sixteen of those images are now held by the castle. The exhibition expands with two new sections: one engaging with the archive of Émile Bionaz (1862-1930), a priest-photographer from Saint-Nicolas, whose images Cresci reinterprets; another in the panoramic tower altana features objects from the MAV (Museo dell’Artigianato Valdostano di tradizione) in Fénis, which Cresci digitally redraws into contemporary logos and icons. The project aims to valorize regional heritage while looking forward.
Key facts
- Exhibition 'Mon Cher Abbé Bionaz! Mario Cresci per la Valle d’Aosta' opened 2023 season at Castello Gamba, Châtillon.
- Curated by Luca Fiore.
- Mario Cresci (born 1942, Chiavari) is a photographer and designer.
- Castello Gamba houses the modern and contemporary art collection of the Autonomous Region of Valle d’Aosta.
- Collection built over sixty years via acquisitions, donations, and bequests, mainly through the Ufficio Mostre (founded 1984 by Anna Ugliano, directed by Janus).
- Cresci participated in a 1990 photographic survey of Valle d’Aosta’s rural world with Luigi Ghirri and Gabriele Basilico.
- Sixteen of Cresci’s 1990 photographs are in the Castello Gamba collection.
- Exhibition includes a section on Émile Bionaz (1862-1930), a priest and photographer from Saint-Nicolas.
- Third section features objects from MAV (Museo dell’Artigianato Valdostano di tradizione) in Fénis, digitally transformed by Cresci.
- Cresci describes his practice as 'slow photography' focused on process and material culture.
Entities
Artists
- Mario Cresci
- Luigi Ghirri
- Gabriele Basilico
- Émile Bionaz
Institutions
- Castello Gamba
- Museo di Arte moderna e contemporanea
- Regione Autonoma Valle d’Aosta
- Ufficio Mostre
- MAV (Museo dell’Artigianato Valdostano di tradizione)
Locations
- Châtillon
- Valle d’Aosta
- Saint-Nicolas
- Fénis
- Matera
- Basilicata
- Chiavari
- Torino