Cagnoni found his voice as a photographer in the 1960’s with powerful full page images in the best journals worldwide – Times, Sunday Times, Newsweek, Life Magazine, etc. – and he could nearly overwhelm the reader with a visual encounter that turned the news into a shaking experience. Throughout a career that has intersected with many of the leading avant-garde movements of twentieth century art, Cagnoni has remained resolutely committed to a singular creative vision. With his work he has remained steadfastly at the vanguard of the visual photography impact for more than fifty years, and continuing today to create new bodies of work with characteristic energy and restless innovation. What unifies Cagnoni’s myriad of photographs, environmental photographs and the filled found objects and situations, is that they are almost photographical sculptural essays about and in nature, and it is an intense emotional substance that at once exposes facets of his own personal history with his native and beloved Pietrasanta and Carrara and confronts the more universal ethos of being human. Upside Down Memories, the more recent body of work, comprises landscapes that represent pivotal moments in the cycle of life in Pietrasanta and Carrara. The present exhibition is not only a photo-show but a photo survey installation that comprises a series of hand printed photos,and perhaps act as a sacred element, diptychs and a fabric of occasions in which Cagnoni juxtaposes each element with a dramatic event. Throughout the present exhibition, the work of Cagnoni appears as an integral and constant element of a creative process that is juxtaposed with his hand photo-printed works. Being an observer of reality Cagnoni is acutely aware of his sensations and surroundings, these only magnified during the long, lonely hours of the time he spends looking attentively at a form, a shadow, a group, or a sequence of events. The passing of time, his memories and the qualities of changing light and ambient sounds are registered in his photographs with a magic realism. Cagnoni’s photographs are both elegantly austere and surprisingly sensual. Arranged along the classical drama of reality, his works have a powerful, physical and optical presence and incorporate the space around the subjects he photographs. The works have helped redefine the direction of post-war photojournalism. To the surprise of some, since 2010 vibrant colour has played an increasing part in his work and he is now seen as an important colourist of nature. The exhibition includes around hundred works. It begins with a remarkable series of “paintings” and almost handmade works. The early 1960s work shows Cagnoni’s progression from two into three dimensions and illustrates his development of a new vocabulary of photojournalism. The exhibition then explores Cagnoni’s characteristic studio-made Warriors from the 1995 Chechen war (staged photographs in the back alleys of Grozny during the conflict). A different view of war at the back of the real scenery. The works from the 1960s and 1970s made from a wide-range of sources has galvanised the public opinion. The exhibition moves through the 1980s with a series of profound photographs and ends with his final colourful recent photographs Upside Down Memories.
Victor De Circasia
Solo exhibitions
1966, Florence Floods, Swiss Cottage Library, London
1969, Biafra, “Spectator magazine” Trafalgar Square tent, London
1972, Fotografie di Romano Cagnoni, Istituto Italiano di Cultura, London
1975, Romano Cagnoni: un testimonio dell’epoca, Galleria Il Diaframma, Milano
1975, Romano Cagnoni, Galleria Bonomo, Bari
1975, Romano Cagnoni - L’avanguardia americana, Museo Correr, Venezia
1976, Romano Cagnoni, Biblioteca Civica, Castiglione Olona (Varese)
1976, Romano Cagnoni, University Museum, Città del Messico
1976, Romano Cagnoni, Galleria Diaframma Immagine, Brescia
1977, Romano Cagnoni, Biblioteca Civica, Mattarello (Trento)
1978, Romano Cagnoni - Incontri Internazionali di Fotografia, Museo Civico, Bologna
1982, Romano Cagnoni, Biblioteca Civica, Cordenons (Pordenone)
1984, Geometria del dolore, Palazzo Braschi, Roma
1985, Romano Cagnoni, Palazzo Todeschini, Desenzano del Garda (Brescia)
1985, Geometria del dolore, la Versiliana, Versilia (Lucca)
1985, Pietrasanta & Figli, Chiostro Sant’Agostino, Pietrasanta (Lucca)
1985, Cave, Comune di Carrara, Carrara
1986, Cave, Internazionale Marmi Macchine, Carrara
1987, Geometria del dolore, Chiesa di S. Filippo, Osimo (Ancona)
1988, Caro marmo, Galleria IF, Milano
1988, Caro marmo, Versiliana, Versilia (Lucca)
1989, Caro marmo, California Museum of Science and Industry, Los Angeles
1990, Caro marmo, Palazzo Lanfranchi, Pisa
1991, Caro marmo, Foto Italia Expo, Fiera, Gorizia
1991, Materia, artigiani, scultori, Chiostro di Sant’Agostino, Pietrasanta (Lucca)
1991, Ritratti di scultori, Galleria La Subbia, Lido di Camaiore (Lucca)
1993, War in Yugoslavia, Istituto Italiano di Cultura, New York-Washington-Chicago-Los Angeles
1994, Romano Cagnoni, ACTA International, Roma
1994, Caro marmo, Villa Gori, Stiava (Lucca)
1994, Ex Jugoslavia, Meeting, Rimini
1995, Caro marmo, Istituto Italiano di Cultura, Tokyo
1998, Romano Cagnoni - Conflitti, Palazzo Ducale, Atri (Teramo)
1998, Caro marmo, Palazzo Micheli Pellegrini, Carrara
1999, Romano Cagnoni - Fotografia totale, Università del Melo, Gallarate (Varese)
2000, Romano Cagnoni retrospettiva – Il Mondo a Fuoco – Palazzo Te, Mantova
2001, Con Brio, Villa Gori, Stiava, Lucca
2003/2004, Chiaro Scuro, Palazzo dell’Arengario, Milano
2009, Contenuti, WavePhotoGallery, Brescia
2009, Romano Cagnoni-Racconti inediti, Quaglietta (AV) Borgo Medioevale
2009, Romano Cagnoni-Ad Ampio Raggio, Altidona (FM)
2010, Romano Cagnoni, Premio Città di Trieste al Reportage, proiezione e conferenza
2010, ChiaroScuro, proiezione e conferenza, Chelsea Arts Club, London
2010, Brief Encounter, Blacks, London
2010, Romano Cagnoni, Nordic Light Festival, Kristiansund, Norway
2011, La guerra negli occhi, Gallerie Piedicastello Trento
2011, Chelsea, Proud Gallery, London
2012, Upside down memories, Palazzo Mediceo Seravezza
Selected Group Exhibitions
1971, Color supplement photo-journalists, The Royal Photographic Society, London
1971, Witness, 4 photographers, Photographer’s gallery, London
1975, Momenti ed Aspetti della Fotografia Italiana, Sicof, Fiera di Milano, Milano
1975, 9 anni della Galleria dell’Immagine “il Diaframma”, Padova
1977, Dix ans de il Diaframma, Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Chalon sur Saône
1977, L’occhio, la macchina, la realtà, Istituto Italiano di Cultura, Tokyo
1978, Fotografia Italiana, Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie, Arles
1979, The Italian Eye, Alternatice Center for International Arts, New York
1979, Fotografia italiana contemporanea, Unesco, Venezia
1979, La fotografia italiana, Museo de Arte Carrillo, Città del Messico
1979, Reportage, Chiostro di Voltorre, Gavirate (Varese)
1980, Politics & Photography, Project Studios 1, New York
1980, A Sud del Sahara, Palazzo Gambalunga, Rimini
1980, Fotografie africane, Palazzo Isimbardi, Milano
1981, L’informazione negata, Pinacoteca Provinciale, Bari
1981, Fotografia, VIII Premio Scanno, Scanno (L’Aquila)
1982, Italia degli italiani, China Art Gallery, Pechino
1982, Guerra e Pace, Terni e Torino
1983, 15 anni della galleria “il Diaframma”, Palazzo Lanfranchi, Pisa
1983, Kindness, the Keflex Collection, The Hamilton gallery Londra
1983, 15 anni della galleria “il Diaframma”, Chiostro S. Maria della Lobra, Massa Lubrense (NA)
1983, La photographie italienne contemporaine, Musée Ancien, Grignan
1984, Trees, Photographer’s Gallery, Londra
1986, Chi troppo, chi niente, Teatro del Falcone, Palazzo Reale, Genova
1988, 20 anni di Fotografia Italiana, Sala Consiliare, Comune di Savona
1988, I fotografi del Venerdì di Repubblica, Galleria “il Diaframma”, Milano
1989, Life: Through the Sixties, International Center of Photography, New York
1990, Il Mondo dei fotografi, Casa di Giulietta, Verona
1990, A Day in the Life of Italy, Nikon House, New York
1991, La festa dell’Unità, Festa Nazionale de l’Unità, Bologna
1992, 25 anni d’attività della Galleria “il Diaframma”, Galleria “il Diaframma”, Milano
1993, Il bacio, Casa di Giulietta, Verona
1994, Compagni di viaggio, 6ª Rassegna Internazionale di Fotografia, Cassero Senese, Grosseto
1996, Gli anni ’60 – Le immagini al potere, Fondazione A. Mazzotta in Foro Buonaparte, Milano
1997, The Coca-Cola Bottle, Design Museum, Londra
1997, Immagini e parole dalla ex-Jugoslavia, Orto Botanico, Lucca
1997, Il grande reportage italiano, Villa Bottini, Lucca
1998, Pagine di fotografia italiana 1900-1998, Galleria Gottardo, Lugano
1999, La mia patria il mondo, Parco Acqua Santa, Chianciano Terme
2000, Le Siècle du Corps – Photographies 1900-2000, Musée de l’Elysée, Losanna
2001, Friendship, Grand Central Station, New York
2005, Soldiers, Palazzo Arese Borromeo, Cesano Maderno, Milano
2009, Ombre di Guerra, Rotonda della Besana, Milano
2011, Ombre di Guerra, Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris
2011, Auction of Exceptional Photographs, PhotoVoice London
Cagnoni explores the wide impact of political events in his photography and seduces with his politically charged works. As a pioneer of modern photojournalism, and one of the most significant practitioners of photo reportage, he has developed a unique method of appropriating and using photo opportunities to disclose what he sees as the truth obscured by publicity and the interest of the media on trivial and joyful news. Cagnoni is continually working in difficult and chaotic periods of social conflict, war, and political changes. Cagnoni has a deep understanding of an image’s power. His ability to assemble visual statements that speak louder than words has managed to transform his photo reportage into a vehicle of knowledge and research and avant-garde art, making the elements part of the broadly significant mode of mass communication. Cagnoni envisions his photographs as a crucial way to reveal what he sees as a distortion between reality and appearance in a time of increasing uncertainty. Concentrating his work on using photographs that play a role in shaping public perception, he chooses recognizable political events and juxtaposes the images to radically alter the meaning of those events and to offer insights about the active role of design in shaping everyday experiences. Cagnoni captures the disjunctive experiences of modernity through his clever appropriation of imagery, and therefore has given visual form to his social and political convictions.
Victor De Circasia
Solo exhibitions
1966, Florence Floods, Swiss Cottage Library, London
1969, Biafra, “Spectator magazine” Trafalgar Square tent, London
1972, Fotografie di Romano Cagnoni, Istituto Italiano di Cultura, London
1975, Romano Cagnoni: un testimonio dell’epoca, Galleria Il Diaframma, Milano
1975, Romano Cagnoni, Galleria Bonomo, Bari
1975, Romano Cagnoni - L’avanguardia americana, Museo Correr, Venezia
1976, Romano Cagnoni, Biblioteca Civica, Castiglione Olona (Varese)
1976, Romano Cagnoni, University Museum, Città del Messico
1976, Romano Cagnoni, Galleria Diaframma Immagine, Brescia
1977, Romano Cagnoni, Biblioteca Civica, Mattarello (Trento)
1978, Romano Cagnoni - Incontri Internazionali di Fotografia, Museo Civico, Bologna
1982, Romano Cagnoni, Biblioteca Civica, Cordenons (Pordenone)
1984, Geometria del dolore, Palazzo Braschi, Roma
1985, Romano Cagnoni, Palazzo Todeschini, Desenzano del Garda (Brescia)
1985, Geometria del dolore, la Versiliana, Versilia (Lucca)
1985, Pietrasanta & Figli, Chiostro Sant’Agostino, Pietrasanta (Lucca)
1985, Cave, Comune di Carrara, Carrara
1986, Cave, Internazionale Marmi Macchine, Carrara
1987, Geometria del dolore, Chiesa di S. Filippo, Osimo (Ancona)
1988, Caro marmo, Galleria IF, Milano
1988, Caro marmo, Versiliana, Versilia (Lucca)
1989, Caro marmo, California Museum of Science and Industry, Los Angeles
1990, Caro marmo, Palazzo Lanfranchi, Pisa
1991, Caro marmo, Foto Italia Expo, Fiera, Gorizia
1991, Materia, artigiani, scultori, Chiostro di Sant’Agostino, Pietrasanta (Lucca)
1991, Ritratti di scultori, Galleria La Subbia, Lido di Camaiore (Lucca)
1993, War in Yugoslavia, Istituto Italiano di Cultura, New York-Washington-Chicago-Los Angeles
1994, Romano Cagnoni, ACTA International, Roma
1994, Caro marmo, Villa Gori, Stiava (Lucca)
1994, Ex Jugoslavia, Meeting, Rimini
1995, Caro marmo, Istituto Italiano di Cultura, Tokyo
1998, Romano Cagnoni - Conflitti, Palazzo Ducale, Atri (Teramo)
1998, Caro marmo, Palazzo Micheli Pellegrini, Carrara
1999, Romano Cagnoni - Fotografia totale, Università del Melo, Gallarate (Varese)
2000, Romano Cagnoni retrospettiva – Il Mondo a Fuoco – Palazzo Te, Mantova
2001, Con Brio, Villa Gori, Stiava, Lucca
2003/2004, Chiaro Scuro, Palazzo dell’Arengario, Milano
2009, Contenuti, WavePhotoGallery, Brescia
2009, Romano Cagnoni-Racconti inediti, Quaglietta (AV) Borgo Medioevale
2009, Romano Cagnoni-Ad Ampio Raggio, Altidona (FM)
2010, Romano Cagnoni, Premio Città di Trieste al Reportage, proiezione e conferenza
2010, ChiaroScuro, proiezione e conferenza, Chelsea Arts Club, London
2010, Brief Encounter, Blacks, London
2010, Romano Cagnoni, Nordic Light Festival, Kristiansund, Norway
2011, La guerra negli occhi, Gallerie Piedicastello Trento
2011, Chelsea, Proud Gallery, London
2012, Upside down memories, Palazzo Mediceo Seravezza
Selected Group Exhibitions
1971, Color supplement photo-journalists, The Royal Photographic Society, London
1971, Witness, 4 photographers, Photographer’s gallery, London
1975, Momenti ed Aspetti della Fotografia Italiana, Sicof, Fiera di Milano, Milano
1975, 9 anni della Galleria dell’Immagine “il Diaframma”, Padova
1977, Dix ans de il Diaframma, Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Chalon sur Saône
1977, L’occhio, la macchina, la realtà, Istituto Italiano di Cultura, Tokyo
1978, Fotografia Italiana, Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie, Arles
1979, The Italian Eye, Alternatice Center for International Arts, New York
1979, Fotografia italiana contemporanea, Unesco, Venezia
1979, La fotografia italiana, Museo de Arte Carrillo, Città del Messico
1979, Reportage, Chiostro di Voltorre, Gavirate (Varese)
1980, Politics & Photography, Project Studios 1, New York
1980, A Sud del Sahara, Palazzo Gambalunga, Rimini
1980, Fotografie africane, Palazzo Isimbardi, Milano
1981, L’informazione negata, Pinacoteca Provinciale, Bari
1981, Fotografia, VIII Premio Scanno, Scanno (L’Aquila)
1982, Italia degli italiani, China Art Gallery, Pechino
1982, Guerra e Pace, Terni e Torino
1983, 15 anni della galleria “il Diaframma”, Palazzo Lanfranchi, Pisa
1983, Kindness, the Keflex Collection, The Hamilton gallery Londra
1983, 15 anni della galleria “il Diaframma”, Chiostro S. Maria della Lobra, Massa Lubrense (NA)
1983, La photographie italienne contemporaine, Musée Ancien, Grignan
1984, Trees, Photographer’s Gallery, Londra
1986, Chi troppo, chi niente, Teatro del Falcone, Palazzo Reale, Genova
1988, 20 anni di Fotografia Italiana, Sala Consiliare, Comune di Savona
1988, I fotografi del Venerdì di Repubblica, Galleria “il Diaframma”, Milano
1989, Life: Through the Sixties, International Center of Photography, New York
1990, Il Mondo dei fotografi, Casa di Giulietta, Verona
1990, A Day in the Life of Italy, Nikon House, New York
1991, La festa dell’Unità, Festa Nazionale de l’Unità, Bologna
1992, 25 anni d’attività della Galleria “il Diaframma”, Galleria “il Diaframma”, Milano
1993, Il bacio, Casa di Giulietta, Verona
1994, Compagni di viaggio, 6ª Rassegna Internazionale di Fotografia, Cassero Senese, Grosseto
1996, Gli anni ’60 – Le immagini al potere, Fondazione A. Mazzotta in Foro Buonaparte, Milano
1997, The Coca-Cola Bottle, Design Museum, Londra
1997, Immagini e parole dalla ex-Jugoslavia, Orto Botanico, Lucca
1997, Il grande reportage italiano, Villa Bottini, Lucca
1998, Pagine di fotografia italiana 1900-1998, Galleria Gottardo, Lugano
1999, La mia patria il mondo, Parco Acqua Santa, Chianciano Terme
2000, Le Siècle du Corps – Photographies 1900-2000, Musée de l’Elysée, Losanna
2001, Friendship, Grand Central Station, New York
2005, Soldiers, Palazzo Arese Borromeo, Cesano Maderno, Milano
2009, Ombre di Guerra, Rotonda della Besana, Milano
2011, Ombre di Guerra, Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris
2011, Auction of Exceptional Photographs, PhotoVoice London
