Massimo Vitali

The Theater of Leisure

Biography and Turning Points

Massimo Vitali was born in 1944 in Como, Italy, and studied photography at the London College of Printing in the mid nineteen sixties. After early work as a freelance photojournalist and later as a director of photography for film and television, he returned to still photography in the nineteen nineties with a renewed, concept driven approach. In these years he began the beach series that would define his international reputation and position his work within contemporary art. In 2025 he received the Lucie Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award in Puglia, a tribute to a body of work that has shaped the visual language of contemporary photography.

Leisure as Social Stage

Vitali’s most recognisable photographs portray beaches, lakes, ski resorts, nightclubs and other public arenas of recreation. Under bright light and often in coastal settings, crowds gather in a choreography of towels, umbrellas, bodies and architecture. At first glance the scenes appear relaxed and sunlit. With time they reveal a precise observation of how societies stage leisure, display affluence and negotiate belonging. His images explore the desires and rituals of mass tourism and the ways individuals seek visibility and community within shared spaces.

01 | MASSIMO VITALI SOLO SHOW IN SANTANDER | © LUCIA LAINZ

02 | CARCAVELOS PIER PADDLE, 2016 | ARCHIVAL PIGMENT PRINT FACE-MOUNTED TO DIASEC

03 | MASSIMO VITALI WITH HIS ALPA 12 XY | ©M. VITALI

Working with large format cameras from slightly raised viewpoints, Vitali records wide panoramas where every figure remains legible. This distance creates a cool, almost analytical gaze while preserving intimacy in gesture and posture. The result is a visual tapestry that recalls the layered compositions of Flemish and Italian Renaissance painting. Each photograph invites the viewer to wander across the frame, moving from the collective pattern to the smallest detail, from geography to a single expression or stance at the water’s edge.

04 | MASSIMO VITALI REVIEWING PRINTS | @MASSIMO VITALI

Massimo Vitali mainly photographs with his ALPA 12 XY camera, with which, he says, he can best express his creativity. The power of the camera system allows photographs to come to life in prints in dimensions of 2x4 meters and at the highest resolution.

Selected Exhibitions

2025 “94/22”, Zander Galerie (Cologne, Germany) | Solo
‍2024 Photolux Festival: “Il Bel Paese?” (Lucca, Italy) | Solo
‍2023 “La Grande Oasi – The way we live, now”, OCA / Oasy Contemporary Art (Pistoia, Italy) | Solo
2023 “DAY to MORROW | Main International Exhibition”, DongGang International Photo Festival (South Korea) | Group
‍2022 “Endless Summer”, Edwynn Houk Gallery (New York, USA) | Solo
‍2021 “Leporello 2020. No Country for Old Men”, Visionarea (Rome, Italy) |Solo
‍2020 “Human Constellations”, Museo Ettore Fico (Turin, Italy) | Solo
‍2019 “Massimo Vitali: Short Stories”, Mazzoleni (London, UK) | Solo
‍2017 “Disturbed Coastal Systems”, Benrubi Gallery (New York, USA) | Solo
‍2005 “Fotografien 1995–2005”, Lentos Kunstmuseum (Linz, Austria) | Solo‍

"...ONE HAS TO BE CRAZY TO WORK WITH AN ALPA CAMERA".

链接

SELECTED GALLERY REPRESENTATIONS
EDWYNN HOUK GALLERY | NEW YORK
GALERIE THOMAS ZANDER | COLOGNE, PARIS

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