Massimo Vitali
author · photographer
Massimo Vitali is an Italian photographer born in 1944 in Como. He moved to London in the mid-1960s to study photography at the London College of Printing. He began his career as a photojournalist in the 1970s before transitioning to artistic photography in the 1980s. He is widely recognized for his large-scale color photographs of vacationers and tourists, particularly at beaches, which he began capturing in 1994. His work often explores 'normality'—depicting the cosmetic fakery, sexual innuendo, and commodified leisure of contemporary life. He lives and works in Lucca, Italy, and occasionally in Berlin. His work has been exhibited in major institutions worldwide, including the Guggenheim Museum, Centre Pompidou, and the Stedelijk Museum.[1,2,3]
- beach photography
- normality
- leisure
- social landscape
- vacationers
Works by Massimo Vitali
- 2000 Les Plages du Var Les Pieds dans l'Eau Monograph of beach scenes in the Var region.
- Landscape with Figures
- Natural Habitats
- The Innocents
Exhibitions
- 2025 94/22
- 2024 About Time
- 2024 Under This Sun
- 2023 Civilization: The Way We Live Now
Awards
- 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award