Paolo Roversi was born in the same year, 1947, in which Edwin Herbert Land invented the Polaroid. A coincidence or perhaps a sign of destiny. Since 1973, the photographer left his Ravenna to settle in Paris, the city to which he owes everything professionally. The French capital is now celebrating fifty years of activity of one of the most significant objectives of contemporary fashion in the world, through an exhibition at the Palais Galliera, not far from the Eiffel Tower. Starting today until July 14th, it exhibits 140 works, some of which are unpublished, which tell of how, through fashion, Roversi has given shape to unique portraits and visual narratives.
I photos, sepia, blurry, artistic, evanescent, with inserts of color are a signature of Paolo Roversi’s photography and begin to manifest themselves from his first works. Very first: at 8 years old, he photographs his sister, ten years older, ready for the evening of the ball, with her dress made for the occasion. From the coastal landscapes of the Romagna Riviera, he began to refine his passion for still amateur shots on a trip to Seville, just twenty years old. We are between the Sixties and Seventies, he enrolls at the University of Bologna but the path to take is not very clear: first he reads, then “arts, music and entertainment” at the faculty of literature. In the meantime, too the cellar of the house becomes a darkroom and a place of study and research.
First floor
Paolo Roversi: “I’ve been a photographer for fifty years, but deep down I’m still the same child”
by Irene Alison
In his native Ravenna, Paolo Roversi opens his first photography studio. But luck, or rather the turning point that directed his career towards fashion takes place in Paris, where he moved more than fifty years ago. His stylist friend Popy Moreni opens the doors of the environment to him, while to him there is no lack of courage and ambitionwhich allowed him to introduce himself to one of the photographers he most admired, Guy Bordin, offering himself as an assistant. Unfortunately, the eclectic artist, having learned that Roversi was of the zodiac sign of Libra, said “Then no, it’s not possible”. It will then be English Laurence Sackman to impart to the Italian the fundamentals, not only technical, that he needed, for example: if the tripod must be “well fixed”, “your eyes and your spirit must remain free”.
The shootings and fashion coverswhich would soon become difficult for Paolo Roversi to count, debuted in 1975. The first successes were full of emotion: “When they called me from Marie Claire I was so happy that I jumped everywhere in the house” he later confided. Five years later, an encounter would change his work: the one with instant photography.
Paoloroid
A neologism from the union between his name and that of Polaroid: an idea by Roversi himself that suggests the level of fusion between the two worlds. The camera that prints the images a few minutes after the click becomes a space of freedom and experimentation for the photographer, especially with the light, central element, both natural and artificial. He enjoys making figures appear and disappear, designing clothes with light beams, dissolving faces in the darkness or in the light, in a dreamlike aesthetic.
The Eighties were also the ones that opened the doors for Paolo Roversi collaborations with big brands: Christian Dior, Cerruti 1881, Comme des Garçons, Yohji Yamamoto, Romeo Gigli. Many of these have lasted decades or continue today. In love with Polaroid and his surprise effect he continued to use it as long as he could and even beyond the end of the production of the devices, in the early 2000s. In digital, he has found a new dimension with the same creative lens, which has always allowed him to consider even accidents as opportunities.
The steps forward, the evolutions in my work began as accidents
Portraits of strong women
And Kate Moss to Nomi Campbell and Monica Bellucci, from Inès de la Fressange to Kate Middleton, whose official portrait he had the honor of signing of forty years: Paolo Roversi can claim to have photographed the most beautiful women in the world. The list is very long and includes Isabella Rossellini, Tilda Swinton, Milla Jovovich and many more.
A long exposure time means giving the soul time to come to the surface. And leave time for chance to intervene
The subjects of Paolo Roversi’s works are women, clothes, silhouettes but also faces, looks and the emotions that these arouse. A constant search for beauty and the creation of intimate spaces.
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– 2024-03-17 22:45:29
