Gian Paolo Barbieri: Beyond Fashion

To the master who made his mark on the history of contemporary fashion photography, House of Lucie Ostuni and The Lucie Awards dedicate “Gian Paolo Barbieri: Beyond Fashion”, a retrospective exhibition realised in collaboration with the Gian Paolo Barbieri Foundation and 29 Arts In Progress Gallery, Milan which will be on view from the 5th of July to the 31st of August 2024.

Alongside many masterworks by Barbieri, there will also be shown some previously unpublished photographs ranging from the 1960’s to the year 2000, the product of in-depth research conducted inside the artist’s archive.

Gian Paolo Barbieri managed to give a unique perspective to Italian fashion that no one had yet imagined, becoming a friend and ally to the designers who the advent of made in Italy transformed into the protagonists of a new era of costume and fashion.

At their side, Barbieri interprets the most beautiful chapter of that new reawakening. Shown in the exhibition are intimate and spontaneous shots of models and celebrities, such as Veruschka, Naomi Campbell, Marpessa, Eva Herzigova and Monica Bellucci, Mina, Isabella Rossellini alternating with iconic photographs (including Audrey Hepburn in 1969) which Barbieri conceived of for some of the most legendary publicity campaigns for Italian and International fashion brands such as Versace, Ferrè, Vivienne Westwood, Dolce & Gabbana, Valentino and Armani.

But the exhibition narrative also introduces the public to innovative images in terms of set design and styling, the product of the artist’s unmistakable genius: a style of photography which is ironic whilst at the same time cultured, sought after and provocative, rich with references to art history, eclectic outdoor set design in exotic locations and cinematic references echoing his early experience working at Cinecittà in Rome.

In fact, from Barbieri’s point of view, fashion without art becomes naked and empty. The women photographed here in the exhibition free themselves for the occasion from the classic canonical poses of fashion photography, becoming spokeswomen for a new, unconventional type of elegance which reveals a more nonchalant and sensual side.

Barbieri – the 2018 winner of the Lucie Award for Best International Fashion Photographer (Outstanding Achievement in Fashion) – is always a special photographer: in his carefully studied and balanced use of lighting, through his longstanding familiarity with cinema and theatre, in the makeup and the suspended stillness of the poses.

Gian Paolo Barbieri fascinates, surprises, touches the heart and mind of the viewer. This is also the purpose of photography and, more broadly, of art.



Gian Paolo Barbieri (Milan, 1935)
For over 60 years, Gian Paolo Barbieri has been one of the most influential international photographers in the world of fashion. Collaborating on some of the largest advertising campaigns for international fashion brands such as Valentino, Gianni Versace, Gianfranco Ferré, Giorgio Armani, Bulgari, Yves Saint Laurent, Dolce & Gabbana, Vivienne Westwood and many others, the work of Barbieri with his iconic and timeless shots has, for decades, filled the pages of Vogue Italia, Vogue Paris, Vogue America, L’Officiel, GQ and Vanity Fair. Cited as one of the fourteen best fashion photographers by Stern magazine, Barbieri is an artist that is becoming ever more present in prestigious museum collections among which, the Victoria and Albert Museum and the National Portrait Gallery in London, the Kunstforum in Vienna, the MAMM in Moscow and the Erarta Contemporary Art Museum in St. Petersburg, the Musée du quai Branly in Paris and the Nicola Erni Collection, Switzerland. His photographs have been presented in many influential publications such as Artificial (1982), Gian Paolo Barbieri (1988), Tahiti Tattoos (1989), Madagascar (1997), Equator (1999), A History of Fashion (2001), Dark Memories (2013), Skin (2015) and Flowers of My Life (2016). In 2018 Gian Paolo Barbieri received the Lucie Award in New York for Best International Fashion Photographer (Outstanding Achievement in Fashion). In June 2022, ‘The Man and the Beauty’, the first documentary film made about the life and work of the artist won the audience award in the Biografilm Art & Music section of the Biografilm Festival 2022 in Bologna.


House of Lucie
House of Lucie is a contemporary photography space presenting rotating exhibitions, lectures, workshops, and events. House of Lucie was established in 2016 by Hossein Farmani as a contemporary photography space to showcase the extraordinary work of the Lucie Awards Honorees, as well as to carry on his passion for discovering, collecting and sharing the work of local and international photographic talent. The space also hosts the countless winners of photography competitions and international prizes in different parts of the world (USA, China, Japan, France….) from the Lucie Foundation to support the work of professional photographers, amateur photographers and students.

Fondazione Gian Paolo Barbieri
The Fondazione Gian Paolo Barbieri, constituted in 2016 by the artist himself, is a cultural institution that operates in the visual arts sector and whose aim is the promotion of the artistic figure of the Founder, of his photographic works and of all the material and immaterial properties that testify Barbieri artistic-creative activity. Furthermore, the Foundation seeks the promotion of the historical and contemporary photography and of any another form of cultural expression in his different carrying out.

Gian Paolo Barbieri, president of the homonymous Foundation, is one of the most influential photographers of the second half of the Twentieth Century.

The activity of the Foundation focuses on the archives that preciously preserves all the artistic properties of Gian Paolo Barbieri, through the conservation, guardianship, management, protection, acquisition, registration, cataloguing, authentication, and promotion of the photographer’s work for the community and for the diffusion of the photographic culture, in Italy and in the world.

A series of initiatives, such as publications of books, photographic exhibitions, exhibitions, events, lectures, and meetings are carried out for a heterogeneous audience including employees, scholars, admirers, and lovers of the world of the photography, of the fashion and of the art.

Additionally, activities related to the education of young people in collaboration with university and artistic institutions for site visits, workshops, and training activities consistent with social goals.


29 ARTS IN PROGRESS gallery
29 ARTS IN PROGRESS is a leading art photography gallery located in the historic area of Sant’Ambrogio, Milan. The gallery represents the work of internationally renowned photographers (including Gian Paolo Barbieri, Mario Testino, Greg Gorman, Rankin, and Michel Haddi), with a focus on portraiture and fashion photography.

Since its inception, the gallery has curated exhibitions in partnership with public and private museums including V&A Museum; Hong Kong Arts Centre; Multimedia Art Museum, Moscow; Erarta Museum of Contemporary Art, Saint Petersburg; Palazzo Reale, Palazzo Pirelli and Triennale in Milan; Museum of Cultures in Lugano and Nicola Erni Collection in Steinhausen, Switzerland.

Co-founders and gallery directors Eugenio Calini and Luca Casulli lead 29 ARTS IN PROGRESS with the aim of meeting the highest standards in art photography collecting.

The Lucie Awards
The Lucie Awards was launched in 2003 as part of the Lucie Foundation’s mission to honor master photographers, discover and cultivate emerging talent, and promote the appreciation of photography worldwide. Over the years, we have paid tribute to over 172 of the most important figures in contemporary photography through the Lucie Awards.

This biennial event honors the greatest achievements in photography. The photography community from countries around the globe pays tribute to the most outstanding photography achievements at the Gala Awards ceremony at Carnegie Hall in New York. Following the highly acclaimed 20th-anniversary Awards gala this past October, Lucie Foundation will announce the 2024 Lucie Impact Award winner this November. The Lucie Awards will take this year to refresh the live Awards format and will be live again in 2025, as a biennial event. Then the next group of outstanding Lucie Honorees and support category nominees will be honored. Hossein Farmani is the Lucie Foundation Founder and Chairs the Lucie Awards with Susan Baraz.