Massimo Vitali (Italian, b.1944) is renowned for his large-scale color photographs depicting the masses at leisure. In his beach scenes, ski resorts and tourist destinations, Vitali balances both formal and narrative details, re-interpreting historical landscape painting through the panoramic lens of photography.

Massimo Vitali was born in Como, Italy, in 1944. He studied photography in London and worked as a photojournalist in the 1970s, later becoming a camera operator. In more recent years his interests have turned to art photography, with work shown in Arles, Paris, London and Goteborg, at the Hasselblad Foundation.

Vitali, a photojournalist turned movie cameraman, launched these paired photo projects in the wake of a 1994 national election that prompted him to question the sanity of his fellow Italians. While on a Tuscan beach vacation, he says he "made the decision to have a closer look at my compatriots," and the results are the richly descriptive leisure landscapes gathered here.

Sociology at its most seductive, Vitali's study of Italians at play may have been sparked by a moment of shocked skepticism, but it feels generous rather than judgmental...He may have set out to investigate the Italian citizenry, but he ended up with a privileged view of us all: gregarious, lost, foolish, expectant, all too human.

Vitali has exhibited extensively in museums and galleries internationally, and his work is included in the collections of the Reina Sofia, Madrid, Guggenheim Museum, New York, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam and the Centre Pompidou, Paris.

Solo Exhibitions:
2009 Massimo Vitali Vered Gallery East Hampton, NY "Beaches and More"

2008 "Massimo Vitali with Mike Figgis: Piazza di Spagna a collaborative installation by the filmmaker and photographer"; Somerset House, London, UK
"Massimo Vitali"; Galeria Senda, Barcelona, Spain
"Massimo Vitali" Bonni Benrubi Gallery, New York, NY
"New Photographs: Massimo Vitali; Crown Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
"Massimo Vitali"; M+B Fine Art, Los Angeles, CA

2007 "Vistas: Massimo Vitali"; ArtCore Gallery, Toronto, Canada
"Massimo Vitali"; Jackson Fine Art, Atlanta, GA

2006 "Massimo Vitali: New Work" MBFA, Los Angeles
"Massimo Vitali"; Hilger Contemporary, Vienna, Austria
""Massimo Vitali"; M+B, Los Angeles, CA
"A New Series of American Beaches"; Brancolini Grimaldi Art Contemporanea, Rome, Italy
"Playas, Discotecas y Supermercados, Galeria Senda Barcelona, Spain
"Recontres Internationales de la Photo"; Arles, France
Crown Gallery, Bruxelles, Belgium

2005 "Massimo Vitali: New Work"; Bonni Benrubi Gallery, NYC
"Fotografien 1995-2005: Vitali"; Lentos Kunstmuseum, Linz, Austria
"Massimo Vitali"; La Fabrica, Madrid, Spain

2004 "Massimo Vitali"; Aula de Cultura BBK, Bilbao, Spain
"Massimo Vitali"; Centro per l'Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecca, Prato, Italy
"Massimo Vitlai"; Galerie Hilger, Vienna, Austria
"Landscape with Figures"; Bonni Benrubi Gallery, NYC
"In Light"; MB Fine Art, Los Angeles, CA
Guidi & Schoen Arte Contemporanea, Genova, Italy
Museum PMMK; Oostande, Belgium
Nextdoor. Artgalleria, Roma, Italy
Crown Gallery, Bruxelles, Belgium

2003 Galleria Cons Arc, Chiasso, Switzerland
La Cour d'Ecole, Cinametique de Corse, Porto Vecchio
Isabella Brancolini Arte Contemporana, Florence, Italy
Cons-Arc, Chiasso, Italy
La Cour d'Ecole, Cite Pietramarina, Ville di Pietrabugno, Francia, France

2002 "Public Places Private Lives"; The Photographers Gallery, London, England
Crown Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
Fotohof, Salzburg, Austria

2001 Museum of Modern Art/Hasselblad Foundation, Goteborg, Commission
Barbara Gillan Gallery, Miami, FL
Arndt & Partner, Berlin, Germany
Serieuse Zaken, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Museum of Modern Art / Hasselblad Foundation, Gotenburg, Sweden
Crown Gallery, Bruxelles, Germany
La Cour d'Ecole, Centra Culturel Una Volta, Bastia, Corsica, France
La Biennale di Venezia, June, Italy
Gallery Hotel Art, Firenze, Italy

2000 Hotel des Arts, Toulon, Commission,
Espace Malraux, Chambery, Commission, July
Espace Malraux, Chambery, March
Arte e Personae, Florence, Italy
Crown Gallery, Bruxelles, Belgium
Fotohof, Salzburg, Austria

1999 Le Quartz, Brest, June
Galerie du Jour Agnes B, Paris, February
Recontres Internationales de la Photo, Arles, July, catalog
Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York, May
Atheneum, Universite de la Bourgogne, Dijon, March

1997 Photographer's Gallery, London, December
Studio Guenzani, Milano, November

1995 "Spiagge Italiane," Gallerie ConsArc, Chiasso, Switzerland, December, catalog

1994 "East German Panoramas"; Historisches Archiv der Stadt, Koeln, September

Group Exhibitions:

2008 "Human/Nature: Recent European Landscape Photography: Nelson-Atkins Museum, Kansas City, MO

2007 "Summer"; Neuhoff Edelman Gallery, New York, NY
"The Painters of Modern Day Life: A Collection of Photographs Donated by the Caisse de Dépôts"; Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris France

2006 "20/30 Vision: Anniversary Celebration"; Bonni Benrubi Gallery, New York, NY
"Aura of the Photograph"; The Samuel P. Harn Musuem of Art, University of Florida, Gainsville, FL
"Hot Pics '06"; Katonah, New York
Hereford Photography Festival, Great Britain
Hay Festival, Hereford Photography Festival, Presentation Book: "So Now
Then Talk", Hay on Wye, Great Britain
Photomeetings Luxemburg, Neumunster Abbeye
Tate Modern, London, UBS Collection, United Kingdom
"The Age of Metamorphosis" European Art Highlights from the Centro Pecci
Collections MoCA Shanghai
"Images d'un Territiore," Centre Culturel Francais des Damas, Syria
"Ballerman, The Exhibition," Kunsthalle zu Kiel, Germany
"See Into Liquid," Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver, Colorado
"Beyond Delirious," CIFO Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation, Miami, Florida
"See Into Liquid" Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver, Colorado
"Different Realities," Crown Gallery, Bruxelles, Belgium
"Images d'un Territoire," Les Chateau d'eau Toulose, France
"Photo Meetings Luxumborg 2006," Gallerie Claire Fontaine, Luxembourg
"Images d'un Territoire," Galerie le Lieu, Lorient, France
"Suoni e visioni 3," Mueo d'arte Contemporanea Villa Croce, Genova
"Highlights from Ham Museum of Photography," Samuel P. Ham Museum of Art, Gainesville, Georgia

2005 Europe in Art: A HVB Group Project"; National Museum of Contemporary Art, Bucuresti, Romania
"Photographic Reality"; Crown Gallery, Brusselles, Belgium
"Landschaft als Metapher"; Ursula Blickle Stiftung, Germany
"Rite of Assembly" Martin Weinstien Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
"Come la Neve al Mare," Guidi & Schoen, Genova, Italy
"Collezione Permanente," Centro per l'Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Italy
"6º Premio Cairo," Palazzo della Permanente, Milan, Italy
"Beyond Delirious: Architecture in Selected Photographs from the Ella Fontanals Cisneros Collection," Miami Art Central
"Est-ce ainsi que les Hommes Vivent," Grilles de Jardin de Luxembourg
"Mare Nostrum," Pinacoteca Provinciale, Bari, Italy
"La Dolce Crisi," curated by Bonami-Cannarutto Villa Manin, Udine, Italy
"10 Ans de Commandes Photographiques," Citadelle de Saint Florent, Corse, France
"Il Paesaggio Italiano Contemporaneo," Palazzo Ducale, Gubbio, Italy
"Italia. Doppie Visioni," Palazzo Realle, Milan, Italy
"57 on 57th Street: Holiday Show," Bonni Benrubi Gallery, New York, NY
"Artcore/Fabrice Marcolini," Toronto, Canada

2004 "57 on 57"; Bonni Benrubi Gallery, NYC
Galleria Next Door, Rome, Italy
"In Light"; MB Fine Art, Los Angeles, CA
"Italia. Doppie Visioni." Scuderie del Quin
"Sguardi Gardesani." Museo Civico, Riva del Garda, Italy
"Collection Agnès B. Les Aattoirs-Frac Midi-Pyrénées, Toulouse, France
"Nous Remontons de la 'Caffe' Toutes le Photographies." Galerie du Jour Agnès B., Paris, France
"Italy Space and Places." Robert Mann Gallery, New York, NY
"L'idea di Paesaggio nella fotografia Italiana dal 1850 ad Oggi." Palazzo
Santa Margherita, Modena, Italy

2003 "Water Water Everywhere"; Andrea Meislin Gallery, NYC
"By the Sea"; Yossi Milo gallery, New York, NY
"Vacant Communities"; Fondazione Adriano Olivetti, Rome, Italy
"Flash: Sports & Swimsuits"; Jackson Fine Art, Atlanta, GA
"CMYK Part II"; Bonni Benrubi Gallery, New York, NY
"2003 Beaufort: Kunst am Meer"; Ostende Triennale Beaufort, Ostende, Belgium
"Painting Pictures"; Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg*
"Le pari de l'art contemporain, une culture d'entreprise"; Musée des
Tapisseries / Palais Vendôme, Aix-en-Provence (Collections Vacances Bleues, Marseille)
"Undergang"; Bergen Kunsthall - No. 5, Bergen, Norway
"L'idea di Paesaggio Nella Fotografia Italiana dal 1850," Galleria Civica, Modena, Italy
"L'attimo Fuggente tra Fotografia e Cinema." Pinacoteca Agnelli, Torino, Italy
"Agrupèmonos Todos, ARTIUM Centro Museo Vasco de Art Contemporánea, Vigo, Spain
"Melting Pop," Palazzo delle Papesse Centro d'Arte Contemporanea, Siena, Italy
"Painting Pictures," Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Germany
"La Montagna Disincntata," Tour Fromage, Aosta, Italy
"Summer Holiday," Galerie Bernhard Knaus, Mannheim, Germany
"Alta Densità." Brancolini Grimaldi Arte Contemporanea, Florence, Italy

2002 "Paris Photo 2002"; Caroussel de Louvre, Paris, France
"Camere con Vista," Il Filatoio di Caraglio, Italy
"Continuità: Arte in Toscana 1968-1989, Palazzo Fabroni, Pistoia, Italy
"Cache-Cache, Camouflage," MUDAC Musée de Design et d'Arts Appliqués Contemporains, Lausanne, CH
"Trade," Nederlands Foto Institut, Rotterdam, NL

2001 "Summer Salon IX"; Bonni Benrubi Gallery, NYC
"Mediterraneo um Nouvo Muro?"; Culturgest, Lisbon, Portugal
"Efferro Provos"; Colmbo Arte Contemporanea, Milan, Italy
"Arkens Samling"; Arken Museum, Arken, Denmark
Centro Trevi, Bolazano, Mutamenti+Analogie, Italy
"Painterly Photography"; Blaine Fine Arts, London, England
"Kunst und Kur," Kunthaus Meran, Italy
"Trade," Fotomuseum, Winterthur, CH
"Mutamenti+Analogie," Centro Trevi, Bolzono, Italy
"Biozones," Forum Cultura Contemporanea, Barcelona, Spain
"Contemporary Artists of the Mediterranean," Culturgest, Lisboa, P
"Collection 3," FRAC Alsace, France

2000 "Tempo!"; Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Rome, Italy
Centre George Pompidou, Paris, Reopening Exibition, Jan, Le Temp Vite.
"la collection de photographie d'agnes b"., Centre National de la photographie, Paris, France
"Arte y Tempo," Centre de Cultura Contemporanea, Barcelona, Spain
"Toi, Paris, tu m'as pris dans tes Bras," Galerie du Jour Agnes B., Paris, France
PS1 Contemporary Art Center, New York, NY
"Kuenstler fuer die Natur," WWF, Munich
"Desirs de Rivages,"1 Biennale Inter nationale de la Photographie Maritime,
Musee Nationale de la Marine, France
"NoConfines," Musei di Porta Romana, Milan, Italy
"Stadt, Land, Mensch," Arndt & Partner, Berlin, Germany
"Studio Guenzani, Milan, Italy
"Le Temps Vite," MNAM Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France
"Dormir/Sleep," Coromadel Press, England
"Firenze Fotografia Duemila," Fondazione Studio Marangoni, Polistampa, Florence, Italy
"Pique-Nique," Binome, Paris, France
"Art y Temps," Centre de Cultura Comtemporanea, Barcelona, Spain
"Biozones," Forum Culturel de Blanc-Mesnil, France

1999 Maison de la Culture, Amiens, Farniente, September, catalog
"Photography from the Martin z. Margulies Collection"; The Art
Museum at Florida International University, Miami, FL. (catalog published)
"The Big Picture: Large Format Photography"; Middlebury College
Museum of Art, Middlebury, VT
"In Uso," Museo Michetti, Francavilla al Mare, Italy
"Paesaggi Italiani del '900," Palazzo dell'Arengario, Milan, Italy

1998 Espana '98, Madrid, June, catalog
Encontros de Fotografia, Coimbra, Paisagens do quotidiano
"Italian Photojournalism around 1968"; Triennale, Milano, April, catalog
"Paesaggi Italiani"; Gallerie degli Uffizi, Firenze, catalog
Un Nouveau Paysge Humain, XXIX Rencontre de la Photographie, Arles, France

1997 "Un Paese Unico"; Alinari, Firenze, November, catalog
Encontros de fotografia, Coimbra, November, catalog
"Postwar Italian Photojournalism"; Villa Bottini, Lucca, August
"Sguardigardesani"; Museo Civico, Riva del Garda, July, catalog

1993 "Where Olives Grow"; Biennale Internazionale di Fotografia, Torino,

Collections:
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City MO
The Hallmark Collection, Kansas City, MO
Museo de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain
Museo de Arte contemporanea de Castillo y Leon, Spain
Centre Georges Pompidou (Caisse de Dépôts Collection) , Paris France
Belgacom, Belgium
Sir Elton John Photography Collection, Atlanta, GA
The Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art, Gainsville, FL
Sandretto Rebaudengo
Samuel P. Harn Museum, Gainsville, Fl
Paine Webber, New York, NY
Metropolitan Bank Trust Photography collection
e-on, Dusseldorf, Germany
Agnes b. Collection, Paris, France
Fondation National d' Art Contemporaine, Paris, France
Fondation Cartier, Paris, France
Fortis Bank, Germany
Frac Alsace, France
Stedelijk Museum, Netherlands
Abn Amro, Netherlands
Arken Museum, Denmark
Fondazione Sanretto Rebaudengo
Akzo Nobel
Caisse de Depot et Consignations
Linz Museum, Linz, Austria
Margulies Photo Collection, Miami, FL
Hypo Bank, Germany
Autostadt-Volkswagen collection, Germany
C.ARTE PRATO, Coll. Permanente, Italy
The Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY
Fondazione Sandretto Rebaudengo, Guarene, Torino, Italy
Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver, Colorado
Coll. Arts Plastiques, Charleroi, B
Centre Pompidou-Musee National d'Art Moderne, France
UBS-SBV, Italia-Switzerland
Vacances Bleues, Paris, France
Ella Fontanals Cisneros Collection, USA
Essl Sammlung, Austria

Awards:
1967 Premio NIEPCE

Bibliography:
Wallpaper magazine, May 2007
"Alle Montagne con Papa" Massimo Vitali;" The New York Times Magazine, March 2007
"Massimo Vitali: Exhibition Review- Bonni Benrubi Gallery"; Modern Painters, March 2006
The Drawbridge, 2/2006Massimo Vitali in: "So now then", edited by Christopher Coppock & Paul Seawright, Fotogallery Wales Limited
2006 Newsweek Japan, Travel 5, 2006
Massimo Vitali in: [ñ]shots, Madrid (E) Divertirsi in: Gulliver, May 2006.
Vanishing Acts. Newsweek 04/10/06, New York 2006
"The Empire Strikes Back: Imperial Venice"; The New York Times Style Magazine, May 15, 2005
Nexus 35, Hivern 2005-2006, Barcelona 2005Agua/Water, catalogo 3° Biennale di Valencia, ed.Fundacion Bienal de Las Artes, Valencia 2005
Images d'un territoire, Centre Mediterranèen de la Photographie, ed. Albiana, Bastia-Corsica 2005
Mediterranea, a cura di Clara Gelao, cat.mostra Pinacoteca Bari, Federico Motta Editore, Milano 2005
La Dolce Crisi, catalogo ita/eng, Villa Manin,Udine 2005
L'Artdu XX Siécle, Daniel Soutif and others, Citadelles et Mazenod, Paris 2005
6° Premio Cairo,(allegato ad Arte n°386 Ottobre) Giorgio Mondadori Editore, Milano 2005
Est-ce ainsi que les hommes vivent, Editions du Chene, Hachette-Livre 2005
Il Paesaggio Italiano Contemporaneo, Catalogo della mostra, Palazzo Ducale, Gubbio, 2005
Next Level / edition 02 / volume 03 Next Level Magazine, Edition 02/Volume 03, 2004
The Village Voice, March 24 2004
Conde Nast Traveler, April 2004
Storia d'Italia. Annali 20. L'immagine fotografica 1945-2000, Giluio Einaudi editore, Torino 2004Massimo
Vitali, catalog, exposition 9 oct.- 28 nov, P.M.M.K., Oostende, 2004
Massimo Vitali, catalog, exposition at Guidi & Schoen gallery, November 2004
Calendar COOP 2005
Photos for the months: june, april, november, 2004
Ten years, 1994-2004, Arndt & Partner, Berlin 2004
Massimo Vitali, photografer, catalog ita/eng. Pecci museum 2 july - 3 october, Prato 2004
Massimo Vitali. Landscape with figures, Steidl, Goettingen 2004
Italia. Doppie visioni, catalog, exposition Roma "Scuderie del Quirinale" Contrasto, Verona 2004
House & Garden Magazine New York Times Magazine, May 4, 2003
Visuelle Kultur, Peter Mörtenböck and Helge Mooshammer, Böhlau Verlag, Wien 2003
Modena per lafotografia, l'idea di paesaggio nella fotografia italiana dal 1850 ad oggi, Catalogue of the expositon, 23 nov. 2003 - 25 jan. 2004, Galleria civica di Modena, Silvana Editoriale, Modena 2003
Viareggio, Idea books, Milano 2003
Proof of Principle, Akzo Nobel art foundation, 2003
Das Lexikon der Fotografen - 1900 bis heute, ed. Hans-Michael Koetzle, Knaur 2003
Italia. Ritratto di un Paese in sessant'anni di fotografia, Contrasto, Verona 2003
Triennial for Contemporary Art by the Sea, Beaufort 2003 La montagna disincantata, Regione Autonoma Valle d'Aosta 2003