Paolo Ventura / Winter story

Presented by Gallery FORMA, Milan
Supported by the Italian Institute of Culture and Société Générale Vostok Bank

Somewhere indefinite, perhaps between France and Italy, there is a land where dreams seem to become visible, almost real, with precise shapes and colors even though faint. Or at least, this is what happens to Paolo Ventura’s dreams who has populated this «in-between land» with images which are illusory still terrifically tangible, and distant — as if emerging from past memories buried in one’s mind — and yet so close, true, and vibrating with life.

«Winter Stories», created by the photographer Paolo Ventura, are fantastic realizations, moments of visual story-telling made of amazing and personal associations where the characters are bird-men, jugglers and clowns, acrobats and violinists. For each image — fragments of a dream being told — Paolo has represented sceneries and characters while imagining lights and clothing, furnishings and furniture with the fervor of a real bricoleur and the capability of a great author. In the end, each photograph is a small and perfect reproduction of something which we too would like to dream about. Or which perhaps we have already dreamt, with him: we just hadn’t realized it yet.

Alessandra Mauro