As part of our 20th anniversary celebration, we’re proud to revisit the work of Massimo Vitali—an artist whose panoramic photographs of beach life have become iconic in the gallery’s history.
Since we first showed Vitali’s work over 15 years ago, his sun-soaked vistas of Italian coastlines, island coves, and rocky inlets have offered a cool, clear-eyed view of collective leisure. At first glance, these images feel idyllic—crowds floating in aquamarine water, sunbathers splayed across white limestone, umbrellas blooming like candy-colored punctuation marks. But look closer, and a different kind of order reveals itself: one of quiet choreography, subtle social structures, and the strange beauty of the ordinary.
Vitali’s camera never intrudes. Instead, it observes from a slight remove, revealing not just what people do in public but how they relate to one another in space—how bodies cluster, separate, repeat, and recede. These are democratic pictures: expansive, matter-of-fact, and rich with generational rhythm.
We return to his work now not only for its serene visual language, but because it reminds us how photography can capture the tempo of a place, the texture of a time, and the patterns of modern life as they unfold in plain sight.
Vitali’s images remain as luminous and incisive as ever. We’re honored to have been a part of his journey—and to continue sharing his work with you.
Massimo Vitali (b. 1944, Como, Italy) is an internationally acclaimed photographer known for his monumental color images of contemporary leisure culture, which balance critical detachment with painterly allure. Using a large-format camera, he captures panoramic scenes of beaches, ski resorts, and tourist destinations that both celebrate and critique modern life, reflecting on conformity, consumerism, and collective behavior. After beginning as a photojournalist in the 1960s and later working in film and television, Vitali returned to photography in 1995 with a renewed focus on exploring the intersections of people, place, and perception. Though first rooted in Italian coastal scenes, his practice has expanded internationally, and his works are now widely exhibited and included in prestigious collections such as the Guggenheim, Museo Reina Sofía, and the Elton John Collection. Vitali’s photographs invite viewers to adopt an anthropological perspective on the structures, absurdities, and sublimity of everyday life.