1940
Franco Vimercati was born on 16 December in Milan. Until the end of the Second World War, the family was evacuated from Milan on account of the Allied bombing.
1954
He enrolled in the Brera Art Academy where he attended evening classes.
At the same time he started to visit various art galleries in Milan and to spend time at the Jamaica Bar, a meeting place for artists and intellectuals.
Shortly after this he finished his first paintings, inspired by Informal Art, and then went on to create works based on the reuse of objects.
1959
He completed his diploma at the Brera Art Academy.
1960
One of his paintings was accepted for the San Fedele Prize, a prestigious event reserved to young artists under the age of 35.
1961
He was invited by Guido Le Noci to take part in the 12th International Lissone Prize for which he submitted a work based on reused
objects. Another work of the same kind was again entered for the San Fedele Prize.
1962
He completed his national service, after which he started work as a graphic designer with a small advertising firm in Milan.
1965
He decided to start his own business, opening a graphic designer studio in his apartment.This activity will allow him made his first contacts in the photography sector; he started to study photographic technique and the history of photography, as well as embarking on his first experiments.
1968
On 29 February he married Bruna and they remained together until he died.
1972
He met Ugo Mulas who, although already gravely ill, showed him his work; Mulas would also introduce him to the work of the American
photographers, Diane Arbus, Lee Friedlander and Robert Frank, which was still relatively unknown in Italy.
1973
He made his first photographic work: 38 black-and-white photos of the inhabitants of a village in the Langhe, Piedmont, where Franco had already spent several summer holidays. The work was exhibited at the Biblioteca Luigi Einaudi in Dogliani.
1974
The series of portraits was edited by Luigi Carluccio and published in a volume entitled Sulle Langhe, accompanied by an essay by
Davide Lajolo. Paolo Fossati and Arturo Carlo Quintavalle expressed interest in his work. The latter selected 12 of the Langhe photographs for the photographic collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Franco completed Un minuto di fotografia: thirteen photographs of an alarm clock, one shot every five seconds to record the passing of one minute.
1975
His first and only son, Martino, was born on 22 July. Franco finished a sequence of 36 black-and-white photographs which represent 36 different bottles of the same brand of mineral water. The shots are almost identical but there are minimal differences between the bottles themselves (position of the label, signs of wear on the glass, water level, etc.). The complete series was exhibited at the Galleria Civica di Arte Moderna in Modena; the catalogue contains an essay by Paolo Fossati. Franco then took six photographs of some floor tiles from a room in his apartment. Until 1977 he continued to develop his work through sequences of images showing objects that looked very similar: six sheets of carbon paper, twelve milk cartons, six untrimmed canvases, six parquet strips...
1976
The mineral water bottles, the floor tiles and the canvases were exhibited at Galleria Martano, Turin.
1977-79
Franco’s research took an even more radical turn when he started to work with photographic sequences of the same object: six images of a painting, seven of a fruit bowl, seven of a Bialetti coffee machine, six of a soup tureen... After setting up the object, each photograph in the sequence was taken as if it were the first: the tripod was positioned and the shot taken; then the tripod was collapsed and the process was repeated the required number of times for the pre-established length of the series.
1980-81
He dedicated himself to a new sequence: 14 black-and-white photographs of a brass pitcher. This time he was more dynamic in
experimenting with the expressive potential of each shot, the print format, the settings and, for the first time, the focus. In 1981 the work was exhibited at Studio Marconi, Milan.
1982
He finished a sequence of six photographs of a decorated ceramic vase.
1983
He made a series of three photographs depicting a floral composition. Then he started on the cycle of the soup tureen. This small tureen, left behind by the previous owners of the apartment in which Franco now lived, became the sole object that the artist would photograph for nearly a decade. From 1983 to 1987 he made sequences consisting of six images each; later, with a different intensity of production lasting until 1992, he took numerous single photographs. In all, there are about a hundred images, each of which differs from the others, some more so than others, in the position of the light, the focus, the angle. A major exhibition of all the images of the cycle, in a perfect set-up, in available light took place in 2014 at the Dresden State Art Collections (Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, SKD) by Wolfgang Scheppe.
1984
He exhibited at Studio Marconi, Milan, and at the Galleria dell’Immagine, Palazzo Gambalunga, Rimini; the catalogue essays were written by Paolo Fossati and Luigi Ghirri, respectively.
1991
Exhibitions dedicated solely to the soup tureen cycle were held at Galleria Milano, Milan, and Galleria Martano, Turin. Daniela Palazzoli was the author of the catalogue essay.
1992
The soup tureen cycle came to an end.
1994
Franco produced a triptych with a white ceramic vase shot in three different lighting conditions.
1995
He started the cycle of photographs portraying everyday objects, but shown as the photographic process produces them in the camera, that is to say upside-down. Raffaella Cortese opened her own exhibition space in Milan with a retrospective of Franco’s work.
1996
Continuing his reflections on the "upside-down" photograph, after the early shots in focus, his approach became more radical as he omitted the focusing stage: the objects were shown out of focus or even immortalised simply through the stenopeic aperture,
eliminating the lens and allowing pure light to leave an imprint on the plate. Caterina Fossati hosted an exhibition at her gallery in Turin. Paolo Fossati wrote an essay for the catalogue. Giuseppe Panza di Biumo became interested in Franco’s work and this marked the start of a lasting friendship.
1997
The "upside-down" cycle ended with a set of shots that were once again in focus. In Milan, the Galleria Monica De Cardenas mounted an exhibition of the ‘upside-downs’. The catalogue contained an essay by Marco Meneguzzo. Franco stopped working as a graphic designer.
1998
He was invited to exhibit his "upside-down" photographs at the 11th Biennale of Sydney, Australia; the event was entitled Every Day. He held a solo exhibition at Galerie Elisabeth Kaufmann, Basel. Franco went back to taking "straight" photos of everyday objects: he now focused on the dimensions of these items, with large prints in which the larger than lifesize object touched the edges of the image.
1999
Further studies of the dimensions of the image: his photographs now show the object as smaller than lifesize; the prints are small. He used multiple exposures: a series of five photographs, each of which is the print of a negative repeatedly exposed with the image of a glass. This marked a return to the concept of the sequence, but using a new, experimental approach.
2000
Franco photographed a triptych showing a small milk jug in different positions in space. This was followed by a diptych of the same object, in which it became darker and closer to the edges; the image was smaller. The artist’s last work was a single photograph of the same milk jug, upside-down, almost fading into the black background; the dimensions of the print are even smaller. He started to plan an exhibition at San Fedele Arte, Milan. This would be opened posthumously, in January 2002, curated by Elio Grazioli. The first symptoms of a serious illness became apparent at the end of this year.
2001
He died on 18 April in Milan following a sudden complication of the disease. Important anthological exhibitions will be dedicated to the figure and the work of Franco Vimercati, including the one organized, in 2008, at the Panza Collection in Varese, and, in 2012, at the Palazzo Fortuny in Venice, the latter accompanied by the publication of the first monograph about the artist.
1940
Franco Vimercati was born on 16 December in Milan.
Until the end of the Second World War,
the family was evacuated from Milan on account
of the Allied bombing.
1954
He enrolled in the Brera Art Academy where he
attended evening classes. At the same time he start-
ed to visit various art galleries in Milan and to spend
time at the Jamaica Bar, a meeting place for artists
and intellectuals.
Shortly after this he finished his first paintings,
inspired by Informal Art, and then went
on tocreate works based on the reuse of objects.
1959
He completed his diploma at the Brera Art Academy.
1960
One of his paintings was accepted for the San
Fedele Prize, a prestigious event reserved to young
artists under the age of 35.
1961
He was invited by Guido Le Noci to take part in the
12th International Lissone Prize for which he
submitted a work based on reused objects. Another
work of the same kind was again entered for
the San Fedele Prize.
1962
He completed his national service, after which
he started work as a graphic designer with a small
advertising firm in Milan.
1965
He decided to start his own business, opening a
graphic designer studio in his apartment.
This activity will allow him made his first contacts in
the photography sector; he started to study photo-
graphic technique and the history of photography,
as well as embarking on his first experiments.
1968
On 29 February he married Bruna and they remained
together until he died.
1972
He met Ugo Mulas who, although already gravely ill,
showed him his work; Mulas would also introduce
him to the work of the American photographers,
Diane Arbus, Lee Friedlander and Robert Frank,
which was still relatively unknown in Italy.
1973
He made his first photographic work: 38 black-and-
white photos of the inhabitants of a village in the
Langhe, Piedmont, where Franco had already spent
several summer holidays.
The work was exhibited at the Biblioteca Luigi
Einaudi in Dogliani.
1974
The series of portraits was edited by Luigi Carluccio
and published in a volume entitled Sulle Langhe,
accompanied by an essay by Davide Lajolo.
Paolo Fossati and Arturo Carlo Quintavalle
expressed interest in his work. The latter selected 12
of the Langhe photographs for the photographic
collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Franco completed Un minuto di fotografia:
thirteen photographs of an alarm clock,
one shot every five seconds to record the passing
of one minute.
1975
His first and only son, Martino, was born on 22
July. Franco finished a sequence of 36 black-and-
white photographs which represent 36 different
bottles of the same brand of mineral water.
The shots are almost identical but there are minimal
differences between the bottles themselves (position
of the label, signs of wear on the glass, water level,
etc.). The complete series was exhibited at the
Galleria Civica di Arte Moderna in Modena;
the catalogue contains an essay by Paolo Fossati.
Franco then took six photographs of some floor
tiles from a room in his apartment.
Until 1977 he continued to develop his work through
sequences of images showing objects that looked
very similar: six sheets of carbon paper, twelve
milk cartons, six untrimmed canvases, six parquet
strips...
1976
The mineral water bottles, the floor tiles and the
canvases were exhibited at Galleria Martano, Turin.
1977-79
Franco’s research took an even more radical turn
when he started to work with photographic sequenc-
es of the same object: six images of a painting,
seven of a fruit bowl, seven of a Bialetti coffee
machine, six of a soup tureen... After setting up the
object, each photograph in the sequence was taken
as if it were the first: the tripod was positioned and
the shot taken; then the tripod was collapsed
and the process was repeated the required number
of times for the pre-established length of the series.
1980-81
He dedicated himself to a new sequence: 14 black-
and-white photographs of a brass pitcher.
This time he was more dynamic in experimenting
with the expressive potential of each shot, the print
format, the settings and, for the first time, the focus.
In 1981 the work was exhibited at Studio Marconi,
Milan.
1982
He finished a sequence of six photographs of a
decorated ceramic vase.
1983
He made a series of three photographs depicting a
floral composition. Then he started on the cycle of
the soup tureen.
This small tureen, left behind by the previous owners
of the apartment in which Franco now lived,
became the sole object that the artist would photo-
graph for nearly a decade.
From 1983 to 1987 he made sequences consisting of
six images each; later, with a different
intensity of production lasting until 1992, he took
numerous single photographs.
In all, there are about a hundred images, each
of which differs from the others, some more so than
others, in the position of the light, the focus,
the angle. A major exhibition of all the images of
the cycle, in a perfect set-up, in available light took
place in 2014 at the Dresden State Art Collections
(Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, SKD) by
Wolfgang Scheppe.
1984
He exhibited at Studio Marconi, Milan, and at the
Galleria dell’Immagine, Palazzo Gambalunga, Rimini;
the catalogue essays were written by Paolo Fossati
and Luigi Ghirri, respectively.
1991
Exhibitions dedicated solely to the soup tureen
cycle were held at Galleria Milano, Milan, and Galleria
Martano, Turin. Daniela Palazzoli was the author
of the catalogue essay.
1992
The soup tureen cycle came to an end.
1994
Franco produced a triptych with a white ceramic
vase shot in three different lighting conditions.
1995
He started the cycle of photographs portraying
everyday objects, but shown as the photographic
process produces them in the camera, that is
to say upside-down.
Raffaella Cortese opened her own exhibition space
in Milan with a retrospective of Franco’s work.
1996
Continuing his reflections on the "upside-down"
photograph, after the early shots in focus, his
approach became more radical as he omitted the
focusing stage: the objects were shown out of focus
or even immortalised simply through the stenopeic
aperture, eliminating the lens and allowing pure light
to leave an imprint on the plate.
Caterina Fossati hosted an exhibition at her gallery
in Turin. Paolo Fossati wrote an essay for the cata-
logue. Giuseppe Panza di Biumo became interested
in Franco’s work and this marked the start of a
lasting friendship.
1997
The "upside-down" cycle ended with a set of
shots that were once again in focus.
In Milan, the Galleria Monica De Cardenas mounted
an exhibition of the "upside-downs". The catalogue
contained an essay by Marco Meneguzzo.
Franco stopped working as a graphic designer.
1998
He was invited to exhibit his "upside-down"
photographs at the 11th Biennale of Sydney, Australia;
the event was entitled Every Day.
He held a solo exhibition at Galerie Elisabeth
Kaufmann, Basel.
Franco went back to taking "straight" photos of
everyday objects: he now focused on the dimensions
of these items, with large prints in which the larger
than lifesize object touched the edges of the image.
1999
Further studies of the dimensions of the image: his
photographs now show the object as smaller
than lifesize; the prints are small. He used multiple
exposures: a series of five photographs, each of
which is the print of a negative repeatedly exposed
with the image of a glass. This marked a return to
the concept of the sequence, but using a new,
experimental approach.
2000
Franco photographed a triptych showing a small milk
jug in different positions in space.
This was followed by a diptych of the same object,
in which it became darker and closer to the edges;
the image was smaller.
The artist’s last work was a single photograph of the
same milk jug, upside-down, almost fading into the
black background; the dimensions of the print are
even smaller. He started to plan an exhibition at San
Fedele Arte, Milan.
This would be opened posthumously, in January
2002, curated by Elio Grazioli.
The first symptoms of a serious illness became
apparent at the end of this year.
2001
He died on 18 April in Milan following a sudden
complication of the disease.
Important anthological exhibitions will be dedicated
to the figure and the work of Franco Vimercati,
including the one organized, in 2008, at the Panza
Collection in Varese, and, in 2012, at the Palazzo
Fortuny in Venice, the latter accompanied by the
publication of the first monograph about the artist.