Massimo Vitali's arresting crowded beach scene panoramas prompted us to crown him one of the Wallpaper's 150 movers, shakers and makers that have rocked our world in the last 15 years. Now, back in London after a 14-year hiatus, the Italian photographer's supremely cinematic work is being shown for the first time since 1997 at Brancolini Grimaldi gallery on Albemarle Street.
An inimitable force in contemporary photography, Vitali is best known for his large-format colour photographs of the shorelines of the Mediterranean. A coming together of everyday-life and natural beauty, the resulting landscapes he captures are partly an ode to the good life and partly a critique of commodified leisure.
Taken earlier this year, Vitali's new series of landscape scenes and panoramas reflect on his summer travels around Europe. The people are still present in the various prints, but the eye is drawn to the dramatically sparse environment around them. Poignant and reflective, they act as a ballad to the power of nature.