Franco Fontana

Franco Fontana

#Photographe #Incontournable
Biography

1933 Born in Modena, Italy

Owner of a prestigious interior decoration showroom, he started photography in 1961. He took part in competitions and group exhibitions organized by amateur photography circles.

1963 Invited to exhibit his work at the 3rd Biennial Exhibition of colour in Vienna.

1967 Travelled to Prague, returning with unique photographs including the famous ‘automobile rossa', an icon of contemporary photography, which was rejected at a competition organized by an important multinational operating in the sector.

1968 First solo exhibition held at the Galleria della Sala di Cultura, Modena.

1970 Published his first book, «Modena una città».

Solo exhibition at the Palazzo dei Diamanti in Ferrara.

1972 Exhibition at the Brücke gallery in Vienna, which marked the beginning of his success at an international level

1979 Started to work on the ‘Presenza/Assenza' series.

Travelled in the United States, shooting urban landscapes.

1984 ‘Piscine' series.

1993 Travelled ‘photographically' along Route 66.

2003 Started work on the ‘Asfalti' series



He has published more than 40 books, including various Italian, Japanese, French, German, Swiss, American, and Spanish editions. His work has been exhibited all over the world in galleries and museums and can be found in over 50 museum collections, including:



George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film, Rochester,USA
The Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA
Ludwig Museum, Cologne, Germany,
Museum of Art, Norman, Oklahoma, USA
National Gallery, Beijing, China
The Australian National Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
University of Texas, Austin, USA
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Metropolitan Museum, Tokyo, Japan
The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel
Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris, France

Museo de Arte de São Paolo, Sao Paolo, Brazil
Fotostiftung Schweiz, Winterthur, Switzerland
Finnish Museum of Photography, Helsinki, Finland
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, San Francisco, USA
Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow, Russia
Victoria & Albert Museum, London, England


In 2000, he was awarded the honour of ‘Commendatore' of the Italian Republic for artistic merit.