Houses
02.06.2012 - 26.08.2012
The third event of the Rolla Foundation is a group exhibition that offers, through 32 photographic works and 20 artists, a look at the theme: houses. The idea of presenting a photographic exhibition dedicated to houses originated in Rosella and Phil Rolla’s passion for architecture; a passion which has led them, over the years, to collect photographs of buildings, factories, interiors and architectural details. Houses is only the first of what will be a series of exhibitions dedicated to architecture.
Houses was inspired by an essay written by Robert Adams: “I have also come on city tract houses so inhumanly beautiful that they had over them the chill of empty space.”
This gave origin to a consideration that denotes the exhibition: “I love houses, they have a soul”. (Phil Rolla)
The catalog text is by Marco Franciolli, Director of the Museo Cantonale d’Arte and the Museo d’Arte of Lugano.
List of authors: Robert Adams, Gabriele Basilico, Bernd & Hilla Becher, Vincenzo Castella, Giuseppe Chietera, Jose Dávila, Roland Fischer, Günther Forg, Dan Graham, André Lurçat, Lucia Moholy, Pino Musi, Gabriel Orozco, Scott Peterman, Artur Pfau, Thomas Ruff, Thomas Struth, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Catherine Wagner.
Robert Adams
New Housing, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 1968/71
vintage gelatin silver print
14.7 × 14.7 cm
CATALOGUE
ARTWORKS
ARTISTS
INSTALLATION VIEW
Robert Adams
American photographer who has focused on the changing landscape of the American West recording there, in over fifty books. His work first came to prominence in the mid-1970s through his book The New West (1974) and his participation in the exhibition New Topographics: Photographs of a Man-Altered Landscape in 1975. He has received two Guggenheim Fellowships, a MacArthur Fellowship, the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize and the Hasselblad Award. He lives with his wife Kerstin in Astoria, Oregon, United States of America.
American photographer who has focused on the changing landscape of the American West recording there, in over fifty books. His work first came to prominence in the mid-1970s through his book The New West (1974) and his participation in the exhibition New Topographics: Photographs of a Man-Altered Landscape in 1975. He has received two Guggenheim Fellowships, a MacArthur Fellowship, the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize and the Hasselblad Award. He lives with his wife Kerstin in Astoria, Oregon, United States of America.
Gabriele Basilico
After graduating in architecture from the Milan Polytechnic (1973), he devoted himself to photography. His first research “Milano. Ritratti di fabbriche” one of the most important, is dated 1978-1980 and was presented at the PAC (Milan Pavilion of Contemporary Art) in 1983. His first international assignment was in 1984, when he was invited to participate, the only Italian, in the Mission Photographique de la DATAR, the important project of documenting the transformations of the contemporary landscape commissioned by the French government. In 1990, he received the "Prix Mois de la Photo" in Paris for the exhibition and book “Porti di Mare”. In 1991 with a major project on the city of Beirut, devastated by a fifteen-year civil war, his notoriety shifts to an even more international level.
After graduating in architecture from the Milan Polytechnic (1973), he devoted himself to photography. His first research “Milano. Ritratti di fabbriche” one of the most important, is dated 1978-1980 and was presented at the PAC (Milan Pavilion of Contemporary Art) in 1983. His first international assignment was in 1984, when he was invited to participate, the only Italian, in the Mission Photographique de la DATAR, the important project of documenting the transformations of the contemporary landscape commissioned by the French government. In 1990, he received the "Prix Mois de la Photo" in Paris for the exhibition and book “Porti di Mare”. In 1991 with a major project on the city of Beirut, devastated by a fifteen-year civil war, his notoriety shifts to an even more international level.
Bernd & Hilla Becher
Bernhard Becher (20.08.1931 Siegen, Germany - 2.06.2007, Rostock, Germany), known as Bernd studied painting at the Stuttgart Academy of Fine Arts from 1953 to 1956 and then turned to printmaking with Austrian Karl Rössing at the Düsseldorf Academy. His family had for generations worked in industry in the Ruhr area, which, however, just in the 1950s began to downsize. Bernd then decided to devote himself to illustrations concerning the family's working environment. In 1957 he photographed a mine that was to be decommissioned so that he could use the photos as working material; as a result of this experience, he realized that he had an interest in photography. At the Academy, he met student Hilla Wobeser, who taught him photography, and together they made their first photographic reportage in the Ruhr region. Hilla Wobeser (2.09.1934 Potsdam, Germany – 10.10.2015 Düsseldorf, Germany) became interested in photography at a young age thanks to her mother and uncle, both professional photographers. In 1951 she became an apprentice to Walter Eichgrun, a well-known photographer, and at the same time attended, as her mother had already done, photography school at the Lette-Verein in Berlin. While working with Eichgrun, Hilla performs several freelance assignments and shows a strong interest in industrial photography. She becomes a professional photographer in 1954. In 1957 she moves to Hamburg and enrolls at the Düsseldorf Academy, where she meets painting student Bernd Becher. In 1961 they married and began working as photographers for the Troost advertising agency in Düsseldorf.
Bernhard Becher (20.08.1931 Siegen, Germany - 2.06.2007, Rostock, Germany), known as Bernd studied painting at the Stuttgart Academy of Fine Arts from 1953 to 1956 and then turned to printmaking with Austrian Karl Rössing at the Düsseldorf Academy. His family had for generations worked in industry in the Ruhr area, which, however, just in the 1950s began to downsize. Bernd then decided to devote himself to illustrations concerning the family's working environment. In 1957 he photographed a mine that was to be decommissioned so that he could use the photos as working material; as a result of this experience, he realized that he had an interest in photography. At the Academy, he met student Hilla Wobeser, who taught him photography, and together they made their first photographic reportage in the Ruhr region. Hilla Wobeser (2.09.1934 Potsdam, Germany – 10.10.2015 Düsseldorf, Germany) became interested in photography at a young age thanks to her mother and uncle, both professional photographers. In 1951 she became an apprentice to Walter Eichgrun, a well-known photographer, and at the same time attended, as her mother had already done, photography school at the Lette-Verein in Berlin. While working with Eichgrun, Hilla performs several freelance assignments and shows a strong interest in industrial photography. She becomes a professional photographer in 1954. In 1957 she moves to Hamburg and enrolls at the Düsseldorf Academy, where she meets painting student Bernd Becher. In 1961 they married and began working as photographers for the Troost advertising agency in Düsseldorf.
Vincenzo Castella
Italian photographer, guitarist and filmmaker, in 1975, after studying Cultural Anthropology at "La Sapienza" University in Rome, he began his photographic activity. One of his most important works is Private Geography, color photographs of domestic interiors made between 1975 and 1982. In 1976 he took a trip through the southern United States, where he made, together with Lucio Maniscalchi, the 16mm film "Hammie Nixon's People," focusing on the colors and sounds of African American society. The most important works are "Nomadic Cities," about contemporary Western cities, and "Buildings," urban portraits shot from very high, but never aerial positions. Lives and works in Milan, Italy.
Italian photographer, guitarist and filmmaker, in 1975, after studying Cultural Anthropology at "La Sapienza" University in Rome, he began his photographic activity. One of his most important works is Private Geography, color photographs of domestic interiors made between 1975 and 1982. In 1976 he took a trip through the southern United States, where he made, together with Lucio Maniscalchi, the 16mm film "Hammie Nixon's People," focusing on the colors and sounds of African American society. The most important works are "Nomadic Cities," about contemporary Western cities, and "Buildings," urban portraits shot from very high, but never aerial positions. Lives and works in Milan, Italy.
Giuseppe Chietera
Architect, photographer. He has taken courses in photography at the City College of San Francisco in 1992, and later graduated from the School CFP Riccardo Bauer of Milan (2001). lives in Locarno, Switzerland.
Architect, photographer. He has taken courses in photography at the City College of San Francisco in 1992, and later graduated from the School CFP Riccardo Bauer of Milan (2001). lives in Locarno, Switzerland.
Jose Dávila
Jose Dávila is a multidisciplinary Mexican artist. Primarily a sculptor, Dávila also works in two-dimensional media such as painting, drawing, and photography. His work embraces different themes and concepts, such as the tradition of modernism in the arts, notions of balance and equilibrium manifested through sculptural creation. Dávila currently lives and works in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Jose Dávila is a multidisciplinary Mexican artist. Primarily a sculptor, Dávila also works in two-dimensional media such as painting, drawing, and photography. His work embraces different themes and concepts, such as the tradition of modernism in the arts, notions of balance and equilibrium manifested through sculptural creation. Dávila currently lives and works in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Roland Fischer
Roland Fischer is best known for his large-scale photographs of modern façades from buildings around the world. In his words, his subjects are “humanity and the places where it exists.” Fischer carefully frames his architectural subjects and lights them such that they appear to be planar surfaces.
Roland Fischer is best known for his large-scale photographs of modern façades from buildings around the world. In his words, his subjects are “humanity and the places where it exists.” Fischer carefully frames his architectural subjects and lights them such that they appear to be planar surfaces.
Günther Förg
Günther Förg was a German painter, graphic designer, sculptor and photographer. His abstract style was influenced by American abstract painting.
He studied from 1973 until 1979 at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich with Karl Fred Dahmen. From 1992 until 1999, he taught at the Staatliche Hochschule für Gestaltung in Karlsruhe. From 1999 on he was a professor in Munich. He had a home in Areuse, Switzerland, as well as in Freiburg.
Günther Förg was a German painter, graphic designer, sculptor and photographer. His abstract style was influenced by American abstract painting.
He studied from 1973 until 1979 at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich with Karl Fred Dahmen. From 1992 until 1999, he taught at the Staatliche Hochschule für Gestaltung in Karlsruhe. From 1999 on he was a professor in Munich. He had a home in Areuse, Switzerland, as well as in Freiburg.
André Luçart
André Lurçat was a French architect and designer. Planner of the Modern Movement. He was a founding member of CIAM (Congrès Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne) and active in French reconstruction after World War II including with large-scale plans.
André Lurçat was a French architect and designer. Planner of the Modern Movement. He was a founding member of CIAM (Congrès Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne) and active in French reconstruction after World War II including with large-scale plans.
Lucia Moholy (Schulz)
Lucy Schulz was born during the last years of the Austro-Hungarian Empire into a non-practicing Jewish family in the Karlín district of Prague, a German-speaking enclave. She was a photographer and writer, referred to as "the Bauhaus photographer," for documenting between 1924 and 1928 the architecture of the buildings (exterior and interior) at the Weimar and Dessau sites, the design objects made in the school's workshops and their masters and makers, interpreted through the aesthetics of Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity), a current of the German photographic avant-garde. In April 1920 Lucia Shultz, met László Moholy-Nagy (1895-1946), a young artist who had emigrated from Hungary, with whom she shared pacifist commitment, expressionist aesthetics and activism in the radical left. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
Lucy Schulz was born during the last years of the Austro-Hungarian Empire into a non-practicing Jewish family in the Karlín district of Prague, a German-speaking enclave. She was a photographer and writer, referred to as "the Bauhaus photographer," for documenting between 1924 and 1928 the architecture of the buildings (exterior and interior) at the Weimar and Dessau sites, the design objects made in the school's workshops and their masters and makers, interpreted through the aesthetics of Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity), a current of the German photographic avant-garde. In April 1920 Lucia Shultz, met László Moholy-Nagy (1895-1946), a young artist who had emigrated from Hungary, with whom she shared pacifist commitment, expressionist aesthetics and activism in the radical left. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
Pino Musi
Born and grew up in Salerno is an Italian photographer and visual artist currently based in Paris. He taught himself black-and-white photography beginning at age fourteen. His subjects have included modern architecture, classical ruins, steel mills, rural architecture and urban cityscapes viewed as pure forms and abstract art. His photographs have been exhibited at the Venice Biennale, the Museum of the Ara Pacis in Rome, and galleries in Italy, Germany, England, France and Switzerland.
Born and grew up in Salerno is an Italian photographer and visual artist currently based in Paris. He taught himself black-and-white photography beginning at age fourteen. His subjects have included modern architecture, classical ruins, steel mills, rural architecture and urban cityscapes viewed as pure forms and abstract art. His photographs have been exhibited at the Venice Biennale, the Museum of the Ara Pacis in Rome, and galleries in Italy, Germany, England, France and Switzerland.
Gabriel Orozco
In 1998 he was called "one of the most influential of this decade, and probably of the next," by art critic Francesco Bonami. He completed his training at the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plasticas between 1981 and 1984. He then continued his studies in Madrid at the Círculo de Bellas Artes between 1986 and 1987. Constant world travelers since 1991, Orozco and his wife Maria Gutierrez, along with their son Simón, divide their time between Paris, New York and Mexico City.
In 1998 he was called "one of the most influential of this decade, and probably of the next," by art critic Francesco Bonami. He completed his training at the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plasticas between 1981 and 1984. He then continued his studies in Madrid at the Círculo de Bellas Artes between 1986 and 1987. Constant world travelers since 1991, Orozco and his wife Maria Gutierrez, along with their son Simón, divide their time between Paris, New York and Mexico City.
Artur Pfau
Photographer active mainly in the German city of Mannheim. After World War II, modernity was documented by many innovators in architectural photography, and he was one of them.
Photographer active mainly in the German city of Mannheim. After World War II, modernity was documented by many innovators in architectural photography, and he was one of them.
Thomas Ruff
German photographer who lives and works in Düsseldorf. He has been described as "a master of edited and reimagined images. In the summer of 1974, Ruff acquired his first camera and after attending an evening class in the basic techniques of photography he started to experiment, taking shots similar to those he had seen in many amateur photography magazines. During his studies in Düsseldorf and inspired by the lectures of Benjamin HD Buchloh, Ruff developed his method of conceptual serial photography. Ruff began photographing landscapes, but while he was still a student he transitioned to the interiors of German living quarters, with typical features of the 1950s to 1970s. This was followed by similar views of buildings and portraits of friends and acquaintances from the Düsseldorf art and music scene, initially in small formats. Ruff studied photography from 1977 to 1985 with Bernd and Hilla Becher at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf (Düsseldorf Art Academy).
German photographer who lives and works in Düsseldorf. He has been described as "a master of edited and reimagined images. In the summer of 1974, Ruff acquired his first camera and after attending an evening class in the basic techniques of photography he started to experiment, taking shots similar to those he had seen in many amateur photography magazines. During his studies in Düsseldorf and inspired by the lectures of Benjamin HD Buchloh, Ruff developed his method of conceptual serial photography. Ruff began photographing landscapes, but while he was still a student he transitioned to the interiors of German living quarters, with typical features of the 1950s to 1970s. This was followed by similar views of buildings and portraits of friends and acquaintances from the Düsseldorf art and music scene, initially in small formats. Ruff studied photography from 1977 to 1985 with Bernd and Hilla Becher at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf (Düsseldorf Art Academy).
Thomas Struth
Thomas Struth is a German photographer who is best known for his Museum Photographs series, family portraits and black and white photographs of the streets of Düsseldorf and New York taken in the 1970s. Struth trained at the Düsseldorf Academy from 1973 until 1980 where he initially studied painting under Peter Kleemann and, from 1974, Gerhard Richter. Increasingly drawn to photography and with Richter's support, Struth joined the first year of the new photography class run by Bernd and Hilla Becher. Struth lives and works in Berlin and New York.
Thomas Struth is a German photographer who is best known for his Museum Photographs series, family portraits and black and white photographs of the streets of Düsseldorf and New York taken in the 1970s. Struth trained at the Düsseldorf Academy from 1973 until 1980 where he initially studied painting under Peter Kleemann and, from 1974, Gerhard Richter. Increasingly drawn to photography and with Richter's support, Struth joined the first year of the new photography class run by Bernd and Hilla Becher. Struth lives and works in Berlin and New York.
Hiroshi Sugimoto
Hiroshi Sugimoto is a Japanese photographer and artist. One of the most important exponents of contemporary photography, representative of serial photography inspired by minimalist and conceptual art in the tradition of Eastern sobriety and simplicity. Known for his rigor in reproducing meticulous black-and-white prints that he makes with a careful and sophisticated technique by handcrafting photographic emulsions that he exhibits at different and exclusive times and methods. He lives between Tokyo and New York.
Hiroshi Sugimoto is a Japanese photographer and artist. One of the most important exponents of contemporary photography, representative of serial photography inspired by minimalist and conceptual art in the tradition of Eastern sobriety and simplicity. Known for his rigor in reproducing meticulous black-and-white prints that he makes with a careful and sophisticated technique by handcrafting photographic emulsions that he exhibits at different and exclusive times and methods. He lives between Tokyo and New York.
Catherine Wagner
Catherine Wagner is an American photographer, professor and conceptual artist. Wagner has created large-scale, site-specific public artworks for the cities of San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Jose, and Kyoto, Japan. Her work is represented in major national and international collections, including those of the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
Catherine Wagner is an American photographer, professor and conceptual artist. Wagner has created large-scale, site-specific public artworks for the cities of San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Jose, and Kyoto, Japan. Her work is represented in major national and international collections, including those of the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
Size: 15 x 21 cm
Pages: 48 Softcover
Illustrations: 32 four-color print
Language: Italian/English
Texts: Marco Franciolli
Edition: Fondazione Rolla, 2012
Pages: 48 Softcover
Illustrations: 32 four-color print
Language: Italian/English
Texts: Marco Franciolli
Edition: Fondazione Rolla, 2012
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