MAXXI in Rome hosts the largest ever exhibition on Guido Guidi, master of photographic landscape

A celebration for one of the undisputed masters of contemporary Italian photography: from December 13, 2024, Gallery 1 of MAXXI in Rome hosts Guido Guidi. With Time, 1956-2024, a monographic exhibition dedicated to Guido Guidi (Cesena, 1941), a pioneer of contemporary landscape. Born in Cesena in 1941, Guidi is among the authors who have redefined the language of photography, transforming visual representation into a conceptual reflection on time, space and our way of seeing the world.

This exhibition, the most extensive ever on the artist, is the result of a collaboration between MAXXI and the Guido Guidi Archive. It is the result of a long and intense research work carried out directly in the Ronta di Cesena studio, the beating heart of Guidi’s production. Through an installation that weaves together images and archival materials, the exhibition offers the public an immersion in the author’s poetics, with more than 400 works throughout his 60-year career, many of which have never been exhibited before, organized in 40 sequences.

A narrative between images and archive

The exhibition unfolds along two main lines: on the one hand, photographic prints, chronologically tracing Guidi’s projects from his beginnings in the 1960s to his most recent works in the 2000s; on the other hand, display cases containing archival materials, revealing the rigorous method and constant dialogue between thought and photographic practice.

The first part of the exhibition documents the photographer’s early experimentation and linguistic reflections. In the 1980s and 1990s, Guidi devoted himself to commissioning projects related to the Italian landscape, combining aesthetics and documentation. Among the series on display, the most emblematic ones stand out, such as Di Sguincio, Facciata and Dintorni, which return an image of the everyday landscape made of minimal details and apparently anonymous architecture.

The common thread throughout his production is a reflection on the relationship between the photographic medium and time. Each shot becomes an analysis of the dynamics of vision and the very process of seeing. Whether capturing a corner of Carlo Scarpa’s architecture or exploring fragments of a familiar landscape, Guidi’s photography is always an act of awareness, capable of making the ordinary extraordinary.

A living archive

A particular aspect of this retrospective is the exploration of the role ofGuidi’s archive, not only as a place of preservation, but as a vital space for the creation and sharing of knowledge. The archive, located in the Cesena studio, is not only the place where the photographer’s work takes shape, but also a meeting point for young authors who are inspired by his methodology.

To narrate this dimension, the exhibition includes a multichannel video project created by director Alessandro Toscano, which interweaves Guidi’s images with the stages of preparation for the exhibition. The result is a continuous dialogue between past and present, between the work and critical reflection.

On the occasion of the exhibition, MAXXI enriches its collection by acquiring some fundamental series of Guidi’s work, including Di Sguincio, Facade, Surroundings, Undifferentiated Collection and In Archivio. These new nuclei add to the works already in the collection, such as the series dedicated to Carlo Scarpa’s Brion Tomb, consolidating Guidi’s role within the contemporary photographic scene.

The parallel initiative in Cesena

And then, parallel to the Roman exhibition, the Municipality of Cesena celebrates its illustrious fellow citizen with a complementary exhibition entitled Guido Guidi. In the Field. From December 2024, a selection of 100 photographs taken in the 1980s in the Cesena and Romagna area will be on view in the Malatesta Library. This project not only pays tribute to Guidi’s deep connection with his homeland, but also represents the crowning achievement of a cataloging initiative of the Guidi Archive, conducted by the Municipality of Cesena together with the Emilia-Romagna Region.

A further opportunity, then, to take a journey through the career of a master of photography who was able to transform the passage of time and the geometries of the landscape into universal visual metaphors, and consequently became a central figure in understanding the evolution of contemporary photography. Through his work, Guidi teaches us that seeing is a complex act that requires time, attention and awareness. And it is through this awareness that each image can prove to be a mirror of the world and of ourselves.

For all information, you can visit the official MAXXI website.

MAXXI in Rome hosts the largest ever exhibition on Guido Guidi, master of photographic landscape

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