Booklet Robert Polidori

ROBERT POLIDORI

Detail of the Salottino Pompeiano, painted by Antonio Niccolini, Capodimonte Museum, Naples, 2017 archival pigment print mounted to Dibond, 163 x 131 cm ed. 10

ROBERT POLIDORI

The Enigma of Knowledge

Studio Trisorio, Naples | Capri

The exhibition features large-scale, color photographs depicting ancient frescoes found in the archaeological sites of Pompeii and Oplontis. These works perpetuate Polidori’s longstanding exploration of the psychoemotional aspects of architecture and interior spaces.

Depicted in many of the images of the series is the Villa of the Mysteries, a remarkably well-preserved mansion on the outskirts of the city of Pompeii, famous for its frescoes dating from 70-60 BCE and restored between 2013 and 2015. These works are among the best known of the few surviving ancient Roman paintings and depict a young woman as she is introduced to Dionysian rituals.

Using a large-format camera Polidori makes “pictorial” and detailed images to scale. Through his gaze, rooms steeped in history convey a more profound emotional force, and those that at first might seem merely elaborate decorative and aesthetic motifs become metaphors for various states of mind.

ROBERT POLIDORI

L’enigma della conoscenza

Studio Trisorio, Napoli | Capri

Le fotografie a colori di grandi dimensioni in mostra allo Studio Trisorio raffigurano gli antichi affreschi ritrovati nei siti archeologici di Pompei e Oplontis. Queste opere proseguono l’indagine che Polidori conduce da sempre sugli aspetti psicoemozionali dell’architettura e degli spazi interni.

In molte immagini della serie è raffigurata la Villa dei Misteri, una dimora ben conservata alla periferia della città di Pompei, famosa per i suoi affreschi risalenti al 7060 a.C., e restaurati tra il 2013 e il 2015, che sono rare sopravvivenze della pittura romana antica e rappresentano i riti di una giovane donna che viene introdotta al culto dionisiaco.

Utilizzando una fotocamera di grande formato Polidori realizza immagini “pittoriche” e dettagliate in scala. Attraverso il suo sguardo le stanze ricche di storia restituiscono una forza emotiva più profonda e i dettagli, che all’inizio appaiono come elaborati motivi decorativi ed estetici, diventano metafore dei diversi stati dell’animo.

Villa dei Misteri #1, Pompeii, 2017 archival pigment print mounted to Dibond, 108 x 133,5 cm ed. 10

Villa dei Misteri #2, Pompeii, 2017 archival pigment print mounted to Dibond, 145 x 193 cm ed. 10

Villa dei Misteri, detail #1, Pompeii, 2017 archival pigment print mounted to Dibond, 108 x 133,5 cm ed. 10

Villa dei Misteri, detail #2, Pompeii, 2017 archival pigment print mounted to Dibond, 133,5 x 108 cm ed. 10

Villa dei Misteri #3, Pompeii, 2017 archival pigment print mounted to Dibond, 73 x 90 cm ed. 10

Villa dei Misteri, detail #3, Pompeii, 2017 archival pigment print mounted to Dibond, 90 x 73 cm ed. 10

The Killing of Neoptolemus Fresco, House of Marco Lucretius Frontone, Pompeii, 2017 archival pigment print mounted to Dibond, 108 x 133,5 cm ed. 10

House of Marco Lucretius Frontone, Pompeii, 2017 archival pigment print mounted to Dibond, 133,5 x 108 cm ed. 10

Narcissus Fresco, House of Marco Lucretius Frontone, Pompeii, 2017 archival pigment print mounted to Dibond, 133,5 x 108 cm ed. 10

Peacock Room, detail #3, Villa of Poppaea, Oplontis, 2017 archival pigment print mounted to Dibond, 133,5 x 108 cm ed. 10

Triclinium 14, Oplontis, 2017 archival pigment print mounted to Dibond, 133,5 x 108 cm ed. 10

Triclinium 14, Oplontis, 2017 archival pigment print mounted to Dibond, 133,5 x 108 cm ed. 10

Peacock Room, detail #1, Villa of Poppaea, Oplontis, 2017 archival pigment print mounted to Dibond, 133,5 x 108 cm ed. 10

Peacock Room, detail #2, Villa of Poppaea, Oplontis, 2017 archival pigment print mounted to Dibond, 133,5 x 108 cm ed. 10

Tree Fresco, Villa of Poppaea, Oplontis, 2017 archival pigment print mounted to Dibond, 108 x 133,5 cm ed. 10

Basket of Figs, Villa of Poppaea, Oplontis, 2017 archival pigment print mounted to Dibond, 133,5 x 108 cm ed. 10

Tree Fresco, Villa of Poppaea, Oplontis, 2017 archival pigment print mounted to Dibond, 133,5 x 108 cm ed. 10

Bird and Figs Fresco panel, Villa of Poppaea, Oplontis, 2017 archival pigment print mounted to Dibond, 133,5 x 108 cm ed. 10

Bird and Figs Fresco panel, detail, Villa of Poppaea, Oplontis, 2017 archival pigment print mounted to Dibond, 108 x 133,5 cm ed. 10

Hercules Fresco, Villa of Poppaea, Oplontis, 2017 archival pigment print mounted to Dibond, 133,5 x 108 cm ed. 10

Piscina Mirabilis #1, Bacoli, 2017 archival pigment print mounted to Dibond, 163 x 131 cm ed. 10

ROBERT POLIDORI

Robert Polidori was born in Montreal in 1951 and has lived in California since 2015. He began his career in New York in avant-garde film making assisting Jonas Mekas in the Anthology Film Archives, an experience which had a profound impact on his approach to photography. When he lived in Paris in the early 1980s, he began documenting the restoration of Versailles and has continued to photograph the ongoing transformations of the site for over 30 years. He has developed photographic projects in Havana, Chernobyl and documented the flooding in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and exhibited the resulting photographs at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. In his most recent projects, he has focused his attention on urban growth by photographing urban aggregates with very complex structures in continuous architectural and demographic expansion including Mumbai, Rio de Janeiro and Amman. Polidori has exhibited in public and private venues all over the world, has received numerous awards and recognition and his works are in the collections of the most important international museums such as the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Musée d’art contemporain in Montréal, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis and the Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. In 1997, he won the World Press Photo Award

Robert Polidori è nato a Montréal nel 1951. Dal 2015 vive e lavora in California. Ha iniziato la sua carriera a New York nel cinema d’avanguardia, assistendo Jonas Mekas negli Anthology Film Archives, un’esperienza che ha segnato il suo approccio alla fotografia. Mentre viveva a Parigi nei primi anni Ottanta ha iniziato a documentare il restauro di Versailles e ha continuato per oltre 30 anni a fotografare le trasformazioni del sito. Ha realizzato progetti fotografici a L’ Avana, a Chernobyl e ha documentato le conseguenze dell’allagamento dopo l’uragano Katrina a New Orleans esponendo queste fotografie al Metropolitan Museum di New York. Nei suoi ultimi progetti Polidori si è focalizzato sulla crescita urbana fotografando aggregati urbani con strutture molto complesse e in continua espansione architettonica e demografica, tra cui Mumbai, Rio de Janeiro e Amman. Ha esposto in spazi pubblici e privati in tutto il mondo, ha ricevuto numerosi premi e riconoscimenti ed è nelle collezioni dei più prestigiosi musei internazionali come il MoMA e il Metropolitan Museum di New York, il Victoria and Albert Museum di Londra, il Centre Pompidou di Parigi, il Musée d’art contemporain di Montréal, il Walker Art Center di Minneapolis e il Paul Getty Museum di Los Angeles. Nel 1997 ha vinto il World Press Photo.

ROBERT POLIDORI

Napoli, Riviera di Chiaia, 215 +39 081 414306

Napoli, Via Carlo Poerio, 110 +39 081 5276011

Napoli, Via Carlo Poerio, 116 +39 081 3508195

Capri, Via Vittorio Emanuele, 44 +39 081 8377001

info@studiotrisorio.com studiotrisorio.com