Senigallia Celebrates Mario Giacomelli 20 Years After His Death

Twenty years after his death, the Marche town of Senigallia honors Mario Giacomelli (1925-2000), one of Italy's most important photographers, with a two-venue exhibition titled "Sguardi di Novecento. Mario Giacomelli e il suo tempo." Curated by Ono Arte Contemporanea and the Giacomelli heirs for the municipality, the show compares his work with contemporaries. At Palazzetto Baviera, it features photographers from his region, particularly the Misa group founded by Giuseppe Cavalli, which promoted lyrical photography in contrast to the documentary realism of 1950s Italy. At Palazzo del Duca, international masters are displayed, including Richard Avedon, Brassaï, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Doisneau, and Walker Evans. Giacomelli's inclusion among these masters dates to 1964, when John Szarkowski curated "The Photographer's Eye" at MoMA New York. Giacomelli, a typographer by trade, developed a metaphorical style influenced by poetry and informal art (he was friends with Alberto Burri), transforming photography into a full art form that conveys interiority rather than external reality. He famously said, "I don't do photography, I don't know how… I am someone who seeks pleasures, but not only for myself."