There is a place where the perception of time, space and culture have chosen to align; it is right here, in the Bard Fort, where the creativity of Gian Paolo Barbieri has found expression through a different face, capable of encompassing all the facets characterizing it. To the master who marked the history of contemporary fashion and costume photography, the Bard Fort dedicates Gian Paolo Barbieri Oltre, a major retrospective created in collaboration with the Gian Paolo Barbieri Foundation of Milan, curated by Emmanuele Randazzo, Giulia Manca and Catia Zucchetti.
In the rooms of the Cantine visitors can admire 112 photographs, including 88 previously unpublished ones ranging from the 1960s to the 2000s., the result of in-depth research conducted within the artist's analogue archive, a historical and cultural heritage, kept by the Gian Paolo Barbieri Foundation.
Born at a time when Italian fashion was in its infancy, Gian Paolo Barbieri was one of the leading figures who contributed to the definition of Italian prêt-à-porter and fashion photography.
First in fashion, then in ethnic and erotic photography, his gaze on the body investigated and observed the soul. He developed as an artist through fashion photography, as he scrutinised, pervaded and made the language of his shots universal.
"Gian Paolo Barbieri. Oltre" is a journey through the photographer's life, an all-round journey that shows a different face from the one we already know. Pay attention to details, to that innermost imagination that goes beyond the image, beyond fashion, beyond nature. It goes beyond everything.
