Festival

“The Subject Matters” at Viasaterna

Five photographers transform everyday life into poetry to be cherished.
Image may contain Nature Outdoors Sky Scenery Sea Water Landscape Sea Waves Horizon Beach Coast and Shoreline
Takashi Homma, New Waves, 2003, Stampa FineArt, cm 100 x 125 © Takashi Homma, courtesy Viasaterna

Curated by Luca Fiore, the exhibition “The Subject Matters” at Viasaterna Gallery investigates the meaning of photographic subjects and their social and cultural importance. From January 20 to April 4, it gathers 45 photographs from 5 different artists: Gerry Johansson (Sweden, 1945), Guido Guidi (Italy, 1941), Takashi Homma (Japan, 1962), Terri Weifenbach (USA, 1957) and Vanessa Winship (UK, 1960).

Image may contain Floor and Window

Guido Guidi, Chiesuola Russi, 2016, Stampa a contatto C-print, cm 46,5 x 41,5 © Guido Guidi, courtesy Viasaterna

Gerry Johansson s black and white photographs were shot from 1992 to 2021 in small towns in the north and center of Spain, collected in the book Spanish Summer (MACK, 2022). Guido Guidi s images will be from an unpublished sequence from 2001 and 2016, and the exhibition “Col tempo” is now on show at MAXXI in Rome. "New Wave" by Takashi Homma (2000-in progress) is a collection of images taken in Hawaii, from the same place. In Terri Weifenbach s photographs, the vegetation blends into a pictorial bokeh, while Vanessa Winship focuses on the desolated Midwest landscapes with a selection of black and white images collected in the book Snow (Deadbeat Club, 2022).

Image may contain Smoke City Road Street Urban Architecture Building Outdoors Factory and Nature

Gerry Johansson, Villaflores, Spain, 2020, Stampa ai sali d'argento, cm 36 x 33 © Gerry Johansson, courtesy Viasaterna

Image may contain Ice Nature Outdoors and Weather

Vanessa Winship, Frozen Marshland with Tendril, Holmes County, Ohio, U.S.A, 23.02.2020, 2020, stampa a pigmenti, cm 60 x 50 © Vanessa Winship, courtesy Viasaterna e Huxley-Parlour

Taking inspiration from the hierarchy of painting genres with landscape paintings considered less prestigious than portraits and historical representations, the exhibition aims to give centrality to the subject of everyday life, to elements considered banal which nevertheless hold a powerful poetic.

The title “The Subject Matters” recalls the technical language used in photography to describe what is in front of the camera. But it can also seen as a statement, a way to express the importance of the subjects that the photographers chose to capture, dignifying them.

Image may contain Flower Plant Grass Vegetation Acanthaceae and Rain

Terri Weifenbach, 12.07.2019, 2019, Archival pigment print, cm 78 x 52 © Terri Weifenbach, courtesy Viasaterna

“The Subject Matters”

January 20 - April 4 2025

VIASATERNA

Via Giacomo Leopardi 32, Milano

Monday - Friday 12 PM - 7 PM. Saturday on appointment.