Paolo Ventura was born in Milan in 1968. His father, Pietro, was a famous illustrator of children’s books in the ’seventies and ’eighties. He studied at Brera fine arts academy and worked as a fashion photographer for many years, collaborating with acclaimed fashion magazines such as Elle, Marie Claire and Vogue before moving to New York.
In his tiny studio in Brooklyn, he started to put together and photograph little dioramas inspired by the Second World War, producing the images that were shown in his first solo show, at Hasted Hunt Kraeutler Gallery in 2006. In the following year the BBC included his work in a documentary on the history of photography, The Genius of Photography.
Ventura began to construct handcrafted scenes populated by puppets, little stage sets painstakingly made by hand using recycled materials evoking days gone by, in which the photograph represents the final act in a complex creative process. His scenes sometimes become true photo sets, in which the artist becomes a part of the fantastic world he creates, portraying himself or his family as characters in the stories he creates in his photographs, combining them with painting and collage.
The complex process of creation of his works involves a fascinating combination of historical research, handcrafting, manual work, scenographic composition, photography and painting.
Ever since his days in New York, Paolo Ventura has exhibited in prestigious galleries in the US and Europe and major museums have purchased his works. Upon returning to Italy, where he lives in Anghiari, near Arezzo, and in Milan, he continued to create his stories and scenes, producing stage sets for prestigious theatres, such as those he created for the musical “Carousel” at the Lyric Opera in Chicago or for Leoncavallo’s opera “I Pagliacci” at Turin’s Teatro Regio.
2021
“War & flowers”, Galleria Consadori, Milan, Itlay
2020
“Carousel“, Camera Centro Italiano per la Fotografia, Turin, Italy
“Ex Voto“, Flatland Gallery, Amsterdam, Holland
“Quarantine Diary“, Weinstein Hammond Gallery, Minneapolis, Usa
“The Automaton“, Műcsarnok Kunsthalle, Budapest, Hungary
“An Invented World“, Galerie XII, Los Angeles, Usa
2018
“The silent City” Flatland Gallery, Amsterdam, Holland
“Racconti Immaginari“, Silos Armani, Milan, Italy
“Racconti di Guerra“, MAG Museo Alto Garda, Riva del Garda, Italy
2017
“Eclipse“, Edwynn Houk Gallery, New York, Usa
“The Last Days of Vacation“, Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto, Canada
Pagliacci, Camera, Italian Center for Photography, Turin, Italy
2016
Mystique Narratives II, Flatland Gallery, Amsterdam, Holland
“Paolo Ventura. Obras de la Colecciòn Cotroneo”, Sala Municipales de Exposiciones, Valladolid, Spain
Mystique Narratives, Flatland Gallery, Amsterdam, Holland
2015
Un Mondo Infinito, Museum Het Valkhof, Nijmagen, The Netherlands
La Città Infinita, Weinstein Gallery, Minneapolis
Short Stories, Gallery Baton, Seoul, Korea
2014
L’Homme à la Valise, Fotokino, Marseille
Träume, Die Galerie, Munich
L’archivio Ritrovato di V.P., Palazzo dei Pio, Carpi
2013
The Infinite City, Atlas Gallery, London
Il Mago Futurista, MART Casa d’Arte Futurista Depero, Rovereto, Italy
The Infinite City, Hasted Kraeutler Gallery, New York
Lo Zuavo Scomparso, Gallery Baton, Seoul, Korea
il Teatro della Memoria, FAR Fabbrica Arte Rimini, Rimini, Italy
La collezione di Kim e Paolo Ventura, Museo della Città, Rimini, Italy
2012
Recent Works, Italian Academy at Columbia University, New York
Lo Zuavo Scomparso, MACRO Museum of Contemporary Art of Roma, Rome, Italy
Behind the Walls, Forma Gallery, Milan, Italy
The Funeral of the Anarchist, Obsolete, Los Angeles
2011
The Automaton of Venice, Hasted Kraeutler Gallery, New York
Behind the Walls, Photographica Fine Art Gallery, Lugano, Switzerland
L’Automa, Museo Fortuny, Venice
Selected Works, Gallery Baton, Seoul, Korea
Winter Stories, Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art, Charleston, South Carolina
2009
Winter stories, Hasted Hunt Kraeutler Gallery, New York, USA
Winter Stories, Galerie Camera Obscura, Paris, France
Winter Stories, Studio la Citta’, Verona, Italy
Fabulous Fictions, The Hague Museum of Photography, The Hague
Winter Stories, Central Exhibition Hall, Moscow
2008
Storie D’Inverno, Forma International Center of Photography, Milan, Italy
Winter Stories, Hasted Hunt Gallery, New York
2007
Souvenir de Guerre, Maison de la Photographie Npdc, Lille, France
Viaggio nella Memoria, Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna, Rome, Italy
2006
In Tempo di Guerra, Forma International Center of Photography, Milan, Italy
Souvenir de Guerre, Rencontres de la Photographie, Arles
War Souvenir, Hasted Hunt Gallery, New York, USA
War Souvenir, Lazia Nowa, Krakow, Russia
War Souvenir, A-3 Gallery, Moscow, Russia
2021
Music Box, Weinstein Hammons Gallery, Minneapolis, Usa
True Fictions, Fondazione Palazzo Magnani, Reggio Emilia, Italy
2019
New 20th Anniversary Exhibition, The Margulies Collection at the Warehouse, Miami, Usa
Make Believe: Fantasy, fairy tales and Magic from five contemporary photographers. Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Usa
Commissione Roma 2003-2017 e le acquisizioni al patrimonio fotografico di Roma Capitale, Palazzo Braschi, Rome, Italy
GIOSTRE Stories, Images, Games, Palazzo Roverella, Rovigo, Italy
2018
Of Individuals and Places, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal, Canada
New Perspective, Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Rome, Italy
Age of Love, DongGang International Photo Festival, Seoul, South Korea
Photologies, Biennale de la Photographie, Aubagne, France
New Perspective, La Triennale, Milano, Italy
2017
Variazioni su un tema, Galleria Antonio Verolino, Modena, Italy
Season Preview, Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto, Canada
Alfabeto Fotografico Romano, Collezioni e archivi fotografici di istituzioni culturali in Roma, Istituto Centrale per la Grafica, Palazzo Poli, Rome, Italy
Fifteen Countries: On Loan from the Collection of Martin Z. Margulies at Aipad, New York
Tonalità tangibili, Museo Nazionale del Cinema, Turin, Italy
Là dove interviene il Disegno: La Fotografia. Fondazione Bottari – Lattes, Turin, Italy
2016
20 Years, Weinstein Gallery, Minneapolis, USA
Photomed, Festival of Mediterranean Photography, Sanary-sur-mer, France
Fotografia Europea, La Via Emilia. Strade, viaggi e confini, Reggio Emilia, Italy
2015
Festival Photo La Gacilly, Bretagne, France
Bienal Internacional Fotografica Bogota’, Fotomuseo, Museo National de la Fotografia de Colombia
Italia Inside Out, I Fotografi Italiani, Palazzo della Ragione, Milan, Italy
Questa è guerra, Palazzo del Monte di Pietà, Padova, Italy
2014
La Guerra che Verrà Non è la Prima 1914-2014, MARTMuseum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Rovereto
Turning Point, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest
La Mémoire Traversée, Eléphant Paname/Mois de la Photo, Paris, France
Festival Internazionale di Fotografia di Roma, MACRO Museum of Contemporary Art, Rome, Italy
Historia, Miradas de Artistas, Marco, Museo de Arte Contemporanea de Vigo
Histoire, Regards d’Artistes, Hotel des Arts, Centre du Conseil General du Var, Toulun
2013
Next Stop Italy, The Phllips Collection, Washington D.C., USA
2012
Do You Remeber the First Time?, Atlas Gallery, London, UK
New Aquisitions from the MACRO Collection, MACRO Museum of Contemporary Art, Rome, Italy
La Collezione di Italo Zannier, PARCO Galleria D’Arte Moderno e Contemporanea, Pordenone, Italy
La Fotografia della Collezione Trevisan, MART Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Rovereto, Italy
The Silent Village, DOX Centre for Contemporary Art, Prague
2011
Sembianze, Galleria D’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Repubblica di San Marino, Italy
54th Venice Biennial, Italian Pavilion, Venice, Italy
Otherwordly, Museum of Art and Design, New York, USA
New Yorker Fiction/Real Photography, Steven Kasher Gallery, New York, USA
2009
Manipulating Reality, Centro di Cultura Contemporanea Strozzina, Palazzo Strozzi, Florence, Italy
Collection from Maison Europeenne de la Photographie, Instituto Itaù Cultural, Sao Paulo
La Photographie Italiens des Annees 50 a Nos Jours, Centre National de l’Audiovisuel, Luxembourg
Photography From the Permanent Collection, Lowe Art Museum, Miami, Florida
New York Photographs, Hasted Hunt Gallery, New York, USA
2008
Contemporary Photographic Views, Weinstein Gallery, Minneapolis, USA
Inside the Human Space, Isola di San Servolo, Venezia, Italy
The New Original Photo, Interalla Gallery, Seoul, South Corea
Una Historia Privada, Theatro Circo Price, Madrid, Spain
Ellis Island and Beyond, Aperture Gallery, New York, USA
Roma, Palazzo Delle Esposizioni, Rome, Italy
Una Storia Privata, Museo Bilotti, Rome, Italy
2007
NYC, Phillips De Pury Gallery, New York, USA
Hunter and Hanted, Sara Tecchia Gallery, New York, USA
On the Wall, Aperture Gallery, New York, USA
Luci su Milano, New art acquisitions of Unicredit Bank, Milan, Italy
Une Histoire Privee, Maison Europeenne de la Photographie, Paris, France
PUBLIC COLLECIONS
Boston Museum of Fine Art, Boston, USA
Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo e la Documentazione, Rome, Italy
Istituto Centrale per la Grafica, Rome, Italy
Koo House Museum of Art & Design, South Korea
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., USA
Lowe Art Museum, Miami
MACRO Museum of Contemporary Art, Rome, Italy
Maison Européen de la Photographie, Paris, France
Margulies Collection at the Warehouse, Miami
MART Contemporary and Modern Art Museum of Trento and Rovereto, Italy
The Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, USA
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal, Canada
Museo Palazzo Fortuny, Venice, Italy
Museo di Palazzo dei Pio, Carpi, Italy
Museo di Roma, Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali – Palazzo Braschi, Rome, Italy
Museum Het Valkhof, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C., USA
Unicredit Bank Collection, Milan, Italy
Pietrasanta, 31 October 2023 - 31 January 2024
Pietrasanta, 15 July - 15 August 2022
Milan, 9 June - 31July 2022
Verona, 28 May - 31 July 2022
