Luxardo - Flesh and Dream. Photographs by Elio Luxardo from the fototeca 3M Italia, on exhibition at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice
November 9, 2001 - January 6, 2002
Venice, October 2001. Following its recent success at the Villa Reale in Milan, an exhibition of the work of Elio Luxardo, a major exponent of Italian photography in the 1930s and 40s, opens at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice.
The exhibition at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, curated by Luca Violo, will be inaugurated 9 November 2001. 85 vintage and 5 modern prints taken from original plates at the photographic archive of 3M Italia will be on exhibit. These include 10 vintage prints never previously shown.
The exhibition presents a series of close-up portraits of cultural icons such as Luigi Pirandello, stars of the cinema like Assia Noris and a young Silvana Mangano. Also represented are nudes dating from the second half of the thirties such as Venus, Sinuous Harmonies and Forza II.
Luxardo’s photographic work in the mid-30s and ‘40s is indicative of the major trends of early twentieth century photography. This is evident both in his nudes, which can be compared with those of Weston, Hoyningen-Huene and Man Ray, and his portraits, in which the influence of the fashion photographers of Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, and of the Hollywood cinema of George Hurrel, can be detected.
In addition to the photographs of Luxardo on exhibition in Venice, the photographic archive of 3M Italia holds a further 30,000 prints, including plates, daguerreotypes, original prints and negatives in its collection. This archive represents the story of the Ferrania brand and its magazine which from 1946 to 1967 illustrated events in Italian history and society through photography.
For more information:
Anna De Sigis: Corporate & Media Communications 3M Italia Tel. 02/7035.2586
Fax 02/7035.2520 ; e-mail: adesigis1@mmm.com
Elena Zaco/Simona Denti: Mavellia MS&L Tel. 02/77336-220-260. Fax 02/77336.380
e-mail elena.zaco@mavellia.it; simona.denti@mavellia.it