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The greatest freedom to the people is the search to inner light.
- Chen Yang Zhen, Taoist Master
Vittorio Gui was born in Bologna in 1966. He lives and works in Bologna.
The Italian photographer Vittorio Gui has been a keen follower of Taoism and the teachings of Li Xiao Ming since 1995. The statement above made Gui start his search for motifs from a world lying in the hills above Bologna. He lives a secluded life there in harmony with nature.
To Gui, photography is a meditative moment, a “frozen moment” within endless sequences of time. With his photographic work, he does not intend to tell stories, neither does he want to amuse nor shock people. His theme is one of pausing, coming to rest, getting involved with a most unobtrusive picture, the aesthetic radiation of which will enthrall us.
The universally appealing flowers are captured on black paper, with blurred and, at the same time, sharp contours, removed from any realistic context and raised into a new artistic space, the beauty of the blossoms intensifies the effect of these large works. Gui protects his photos from misrepresentation and interpretation by putting them in frames which, like a second skin, complete the work of art. The wooden frames are of enormous size, lacquered coal-black, and perhaps this is why they give shelter to the fragile photos. “Flowers”, says Gui, “keep still. They do not move and, by their immobility, support concentration.” To Gui, who has found his spiritual home with Taoism, the pictorial reproduction of the flower-head is no plain portrayal but concentrated energy. Space and a distance between the spectator and the picture are essential to his work.
Gui´s photographic endeavors began in 2000. During this short time he has made an international name for himself; his photographs are an important contribution to the current aesthetic discourse.
Gui uses Kodak film, and works with a normal negative. He uses very large Kodak paper and silicone in order to fix the photo to Plexiglass with a high pressure process.
Overall size including frame 135 x 195 cm (53 x 77 in)
Each photo is one of a limited edition of 3 and signed and dated on the back
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