Paolo Gioli's First Solo Exhibition at American Academy in Rome

The American Academy in Rome presents its first solo exhibition dedicated to an Italian artist: Paolo Gioli. Curated by Peter Benson Miller, the show is part of the 2018/2019 program themed around the body, explored through experimental photography. Gioli's works incorporate fragments of classical sculptures from the Capitoline and Vatican Museums, linking ancient and contemporary representations of the body. The exhibition opens on October 11 with a conversation between Gioli and photography historian Roberta Valtorta, who curated his 1996 retrospective at Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome. Miller highlights Gioli's mastery of photographic technique and his deep engagement with art history, from his studies in Venice to his stay in New York in the late 1960s. Central to the show is Gioli's complex relationship with Polaroid, a symbol of American entrepreneurial creativity, which he deconstructed to explore its alchemy. Miller notes that while Gioli is known in the US for experimental films, his Polaroid work is highly innovative. The exhibition also draws parallels to a previous Polaroid show by Cy Twombly at the Academy, though Gioli's approach is more intricate, transferring photographic material onto other supports. Gioli's fragmented bodies serve as metaphors for a lacerated political body, reflecting societal trauma from the French Revolution to today.