Josef Sudek is an enigmatic and fascinating artist, he is drawn to mysterious and moody visions, to the single detail that renders each photograph unique and to a technique that is often only apparently imperfect, above all in the printing. Sudek loves undefined greys, tones often considered by his contemporaries as lacking in style that he actually emphasises in his choice of printing contact prints. The loss of his arm during the First World War did not put an end to his interest in photography, on the contrary, it made photography the centre of his work life. With great patience, Sudek set about waiting, at times for hours, or for whole days, for the right moment. In this case it is not a euphemism to assert that he writes with light, with the specific light that characterises each release of his camera’s shutter.
The exhibition includes twenty-five vintage photographs ranging from panoramic shots, views from Sudek’s studio window, of the studio itself, to photos of wild nature or of gardens that seem like scenery for a show, apparently natural but actually perfectly arranged.
Two portfolios will introduce the vintage photographs. One is a collection of 13 images named for him and edited in 1976 (the year of his death) and the 18 photographs from Profily/1, published by Panorama in 1980 (a Czech review that Sudek worked with from 1931 until his death).

Židle u okna
(Chair by the window), 1972,
gelatin silver print
23 × 17,5 cm
(Chair by the window), 1972,
gelatin silver print
23 × 17,5 cm
Josef Sudek
Cacciatore di magia
12.6 - 27.11. 2010
Cacciatore di magia
12.6 - 27.11. 2010
Josef Sudek Cacciatore di magia
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Size: 15 x 21 cm Pages: 48 Softcover Illustrations: 25 four-color print Language: Italian/English Texts: Alberto Nessi Edition: Fondazione Rolla, 2010 |