BERNARD PLOSSU : DOPO L’ESTATE

The odyssey of Italy’s small islands

November 1st until december 22nd, 2024

Opening on Thursday, October 31st 2024

Dopo l’estate offers a true island odyssey through the eye of photographer Bernard Plossu, with a rich selection of dozens of prints.

It all began in the late ’80s with the discovery of the islands off Naples (Procida, Capri, Ponza, Ischia) which was the prelude to infinite adventures. Arriving at Stromboli in autumn ‘87 came as an aesthetic, physical & sensory shock. Where Aeolus meets Vulcan, Bernard Plossu enters a happy world he will never leave, that of the Italian islands. Prolific from a photographic point of view, this enchanting world was also one of the theaters of the love between Bernard Plossu and his wife Françoise Nuñez, whom the photographer confides is the “source of my inspiration, my breath, my life”.

Driven by an infinite thirst for discovery, by the desire to lose himself in this wild beauty, Bernard Plossu tirelessly travels to dozens of islands, so many promised lands where he enjoys simple, raw freedom. The only rule is to go off- season…dopo l’estate…“after Summer”. As if he were answering a call, il fotografo francese spent more than three decades surveying these islands, in all weathers, three decades weaving a bond that had become visceral, from the Aeolian Islands (Lipari, Filicudi, but above all the beautiful Alicudi) to the Pontine Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea, via the Aegadian Islands (Levanzo, Marettimo, Ustica) and the Tremiti Islands…

The fishing, the markets, the atmosphere of the streets and village squares, his encounters with welcoming and generous locals are all moments conducive to capturing the grace of the Italian soul, while certain volcanic landscapes awaken in him memories of his life in America, Arizona in particular. Dopo l’estate shows black sand beaches, cactus-filled craters, grapefruit trees and prickly pear cactuses, and invites us to feel the wind, sea spray and light of the Italian islands.

The prints in Bernard Plossu‘s exhibition were made by his wife Françoise Nuñez, who recently passed away, and by Guillaume Geneste, the emblematic printer of the photographer’s work.

“For Plossu, life and photography are two inseparable terms: one does not exist without the other, just as there is no Bernard without Françoise, just as there is no Bernard without Italy.“

Walter Guadagnini

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The exhibition is organized in collaboration with Galerie Camera Obscura, Paris and Les éditions Textuel.

Opening on Thusday October 31st, 2024 in the presence of the artist

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