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Diaframma 8, 1965
GPO-0081
Aperture 8
Photo emulsion on canvas
80 x 90 cm
Signed, titled, and dated on the verso, upper left: “Giulio Paolini / Diaframma 8 1965”
Private collection
From 28 November 1996 to 8 November 2000 on loan at Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, Rivoli-Turin
Diaframma 8 portrays the artist in via Lagrange, Turin, as he carries a blank canvas. The title (“Aperture 8”) refers to the diaphragm used by the photographer, Francesco Aschieri, to take the picture.
In this slightly out of focus photograph, the male figure is barely recognizable as the artist himself: the identity at play is not specifically that of Giulio Paolini, but rather of the anonymous painter who is carrying a canvas that is still blank. Headed in the direction of his studio with a canvas that he has just purchased, the artist represents himself during a moment that precedes the creation of the painting.
Together with the use of photography, the introduction of the figure of the artist and of his relationship with the work is the main theme in Paolini's 1965 output. "Photography", the artist explained in 1972, "lets lets me dilate the language all the way to including in my exploration the gestures and figure of the artist".1.
1 G. Paolini in G. Celant, Giulio Paolini (New York: Sonnabend Press, 1972), p. 52 (revised translation, republished in Giulio Paolini 1960-1972, edited by G. Celant [Milan: Fondazione Prada, 2003], p. 148 ), reprint (Cinisello Balsamo: Silvana Editoriale, 2019), p. 52.
| 1966 | Genoa, Galleria del Deposito, Situazioni ‘66, from 20 December, repr. (with incorrect title “1/25”). |
| 1970 | Lucerne, Kunstmuseum Luzern, Processi di pensiero visualizzati. Junge italienische Avantgarde, 31 May - 5 July, not repr. |
| 1971 | Dortmund, Museum am Ostwall, Elf Italiener Heute, 28 February - 18 April, cited n. 2 p. 47, not repr. |
| 1971 | Munich, Kunstverein München, Arte Povera: 13 italienische Künstler. Dokumentation und neue Werke, 26 May - 27 June, repr. n. pag. |
| 1973-74 | Rome, Parcheggio di Villa Borghese, Contemporanea, 30 November 1973 - 28 February 1974, cited in the checklist of exhibited works no. 2 p. 146, repr. p. 147 (cut on the right side). |
| 1974 | New York, The Museum of Modern Art, Projects: Giulio Paolini, 21 March - 14 April, no catalogue; exhibition copy on paper. |
| 1976 | Parma, Palazzo della Pilotta, Sala delle Scuderie, Giulio Paolini, 11 March - 21 April, repr. no. 57, referred to in the text by M. Fagiolo p. 23; exhibition copy on paper. |
| 1976 | Parma, Galleria Comunale d’Arte Moderna e Sala del Ridotto del Teatro Regio, Foto & Idea, April - May, cat. no. 93, repr. |
| 1977 | Mönchengladbach, Städtisches Museum, Giulio Paolini, 3 March - 11 April, repr. |
| 1977 | Zurich, Kunsthaus Zürich, Malerei und Photographie im Dialog von 1840 bis Heute, 13 May - 24 July, cited in the checklist of exhibited works p. 401, repr. no. 879 p. 367. |
| 1978 | Bologna, Galleria de’ Foscherari, Le figure del tempo, 18 March - 31 May, repr. n. pag. |
| 1984 | Villeurbanne, Le Nouveau Musée, Giulio Paolini, 20 January - 18 March, vol. Images/Index, repr. p. 26. |
| 1985-86 | Montreal, Musée d’art contemporain, Giulio Paolini, 7 July - 8 September, touring to: Vancouver, Vancouver Art Gallery, 29 November 1985 - 19 January 1986, same catalogue as for the solo exhibition in Villeurbanne. |
| 1986 | Charleroi, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Giulio Paolini, 15 February - 30 March, same catalogue as for the solo exhibition in Villeurbanne 1984. |
| 1988 | Alba, Palazzo delle Mostre e dei Congressi, Corpo a corpo contro la storia dell’arte, 1-31 May, cited in the checklist of exhibited works p. 90, repr. p. 62. |
| 1994-95 | New York, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, The Italian Metamorphosis, 1943-1968, 7 October 1994 - 22 January 1995, touring to: Wolfsburg, Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, 22 April - 13 August 1995, repr. no. 220. |
| 1998 | Modena, 1968-1998: Fotografia e arte in Italia, Palazzo Santa Margherita, 20 September 1998 - 10 January 1999, repr. p. 42. |
| 2001-02 | London, Tate Modern, Zero to Infinity: Arte Povera 1962-1972, 31 May - 19 August, touring to: Minneapolis, Walker Art Center, 13 October 2001 - 13 January 2002; Los Angeles, MOCA Museum of Contemporary Art, 28 April - 22 September 2002; Washington D.C., The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, 23 October 2002 - 12 January 2003, cited in the checklist of exhibited works no. 97 p. 358, repr. p. 278, referred to in texts by C. Criticos pp. 73-74, F. Bonami p. 123; exhibited only in London, Minneapolis and Los Angeles. |
| 2007 | Bologna, MAMbo Museo d’Arte Moderna di Bologna, Vertigo. Il secolo di arte off-media dal Futurismo al web, 6 May - 4 November, cited in the checklist of exhibited works no. 422 p. 452, repr. p. 347. |
| 2010 | Mexico City, MUAC Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo, Ergo, materia. Arte povera, 24 June - 31 October 2010, repr. p. 129. |
| 2014 | London, Whitechapel Gallery, Giulio Paolini. To Be or Not to Be, 9 July - 14 September, cited in the checklist of exhibited works p. 155, repr. p. 107, catalogue entry by M. Disch p. 106, referred to in the texts by G. Guercio pp. 62-63, I. Bernardi p. 91. |
| 2017 | London, Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art, Poor Art / Arte Povera. Italian Influences, British Responses, 20 September - 17 December, col. repr. p. 42. |
| 2022-23 | Paris, Jeu de Paume and LE BAL, Renverser ses yeux. Autour de l’arte povera 1960-1975: photographie, film, vidéo, 11 October 2022 - 29 January 2023, touring to: Milan, Triennale Milano, 17 May - 3 September, cited in the checklist of exhibited works p. 393, repr. p. 132, referred to in the text by G. Sergio p. 331; in the exhibition booklet published in Milan in 2023 col. repr. p. 23 (exhibition view). |
| • | G. Paolini in G. Celant, Giulio Paolini (New York: Sonnabend Press, 1972), pp. 47-48; republished in Giulio Paolini 1960-1972, edited by G. Celant (Milan: Fondazione Prada, 2003), p. 148; reprint (Cinisello Balsamo: Silvana Editoriale, 2019). |
| • | G. Celant, “Crónica de Italia. Giulio Paolini y Piero Dorazio”, in Forma nueva el inmueble 14 (Madrid), March, p. 64, not repr.; republished as “Prima della ‘pittura’, Giulio Paolini”, in Marcatrè 30-33 (Milan), July, 1967, p. 269, not repr., and later in Giulio Paolini 1960-1972, edited by Id. (Milan: Fondazione Prada, 2003), p. 208. |
| • | T. Catalano, “Giulio Paolini 1960-1968: il sillogismo dell’immagine”, in Flash Art 12 (Rome), [October], 1969, repr. n. pag. |
| • | A. Bonito Oliva, Il territorio magico. Comportamenti alternativi dell’arte (Florence: Centro Di, 1971), repr. p. 177. |
| • | G. Brizio, “Giulio Paolini ovvero ‘quam raptim ad sublimia’”, in Graphicus 52, no. 10 (Turin), October, 1971, p. 36, repr. p. 37. |
| • | G. Celant, Giulio Paolini (New York: Sonnabend Press, 1972), pp. 48, 50, repr. no. 43 p. 49; republished in Giulio Paolini 1960-1972, op. cit. (Milan: 2003), p. 152; reprint (Cinisello Balsamo: Silvana Editoriale, 2019). |
| • | T. Trini, “Giulio Paolini”, in Art press 4 (Paris), May-June, 1973, p. 15, repr. p. 14 |
| • | M. Volpi Orlandini, “L’artista dell’avanguardia che piace allo storico dell’arte”, in Bolaffiarte 4, no. 31 (Turin), June-July, 1973, p. 85, repr. |
| • | T. Trini, “Giulio Paolini, un decennio. Parte prima”, in Data 3, no. 7-8 (Milan), Summer, 1973, repr. p. 62. |
| • | M. Fagiolo, “Glossario”, in Giulio Paolini (Parma: Università di Parma, Centro Studi e Archivio della Comunicazione, 1976), p. 23, repr. no. 57. |
| • | Giulio Paolini, exhibition catalogue, Mannheim, Mannheimer Kunstverein, 1977, commentary by P. Maenz p. 22, repr. p. 23. |
| • | Kunstforum International 39, monographic issue Italienische Kunst heute edited by M. Grüterich (Mainz), March, 1980, repr. p. 73. |
| • | Giulio Paolini. Premio Bolaffi 1980 (Turin: Giulio Bolaffi Editore, 1980), repr. p. 8 (exhibition view New York 1974). |
| • | W.M. Faust, “Et quid amabo: Notizen zu Arbeiten von Giulio Paolini”, in Giulio Paolini. Del bello intelligibile, exhibition catalogue, Bielefeld, Kunsthalle Bielefeld, 1982, p. 23, repr. |
| • | J.L. Maubant, “Giulio Paolini ou le triomphe de la mélancolie”, in Paolini. Melanconia ermetica, exhibition catalogue, Paris, Galerie Maeght Lelong, 1985, p. 4, repr. |
| • | Arte e Vita dell’Arte. Dalla Creatività al Linguaggio, edited by Italo Tomassoni (Milan: Giancarlo Politi Editore, 1986), repr. on cover. |
| • | G. Paolini, Suspense. Breve storia del vuoto in tredici stanze (Florence: Hopeful Monster editore, 1988), repr. p. 24. |
| • | F. Poli, “Note di lettura”, in Id., Giulio Paolini (Turin: Lindau, 1990), pp. 31-32, repr. no. 12; republished in Giulio Paolini. Von heute bis gestern / Da oggi a ieri, exhibition catalogue, Graz, Neue Galerie im Landesmuseum Joanneum (Ostfildern-Ruit: Cantz Verlag, 1998), p. 51. |
| • | M. Bouisset, Arte Povera (Paris: Éditions du Regard, 1994), p. 54, not repr. |
| • | M. Fagiolo Dell’Arco, “Giulio Paolini, ‘Villa Medici 1331996’”, in Giulio Paolini. Correspondances, exhibition catalogue, Rome, French Academy, Villa Medici (Turin: Umberto Allemandi & C., 1996), p. 40, repr. p. 39. |
| • | A. Coulange, “La conversion universelle des choses en images”, in Id., Giulio Paolini. Carnets de la commande publique (Paris: Éditions du Regard, 1997), p. 21, repr. p. 20; republished in Id., L’œil indiscret (Paris: L’Harmattan, 2003), p. 143, not repr. |
| • | Giulio Paolini. Von heute bis gestern / Da oggi a ieri, op. cit., repr. p. 208. |
| • | Giulio Paolini. Da oggi a ieri, exhibition catalogue, Turin, GAM Galleria Civica d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea (Turin: Hopefulmonster, 1999), repr. p. 17. |
| • | C. Christov-Bakargiev, Arte Povera (London: Phaidon Press Limited, 1999), p. 133, repr. |
| • | Arte all’arte. IV edizione: 1999, exhibition catalogue, San Gimignano, Arte Continua, 1999, repr. p. 195. |
| • | M. Dalla Bernardina, “Les autoportraits de Giulio Paolini”, in Ligeia 29-32 (Paris), October 1999 - June 2000, p. 6, not repr. |
| • | A. Madesani, “Camere in prestito: breve percorso della fotografia utilizzata dagli artisti italiani nel corso degli anni Settanta”, in Rubare l’immagine. Gli artisti e la fotografia negli anni ’70, exhibition catalogue, Milan, Spazio Labs (Milan: Edizioni Tega, 2000), pp. 9-10, not repr. |
| • | À travers le miroir de Bonnard à Buren, exhibition catalogue, Rouen, Musée des Beaux-Arts, 2000, p. 278, repr. p. 279, erroneously cited in the checklist of exhibited works p. 341. |
| • | Giulio Paolini 1960-1972, op. cit., repr. p. 145. |
| • | Autobiografia di una galleria. Lo Studio Marconi 1965/1992 (Milan: Skira editore, 2004), repr. p. XXI. |
| • | A. Zevi, Peripezie del dopoguerra nell’arte italiana (Turin: Giulio Einaudi editore, 2005), p. 289, not repr. |
| • | M. Disch, Giulio Paolini. Catalogo ragionato 1960-1999, vol. 1 (Milan: Skira editore, 2008), cat. no. 81 p. 111, repr. |
| • | R. Ferrario, Giulio Paolini. Un viaggio a distanza (Busto Arsizio: Nomos Edizioni, 2009), p. 46, repr. p. 44. |
| • | A. Altamira, “Eredità della foto concettuale”, in La rivista bianca FMR 9 (Villanova di Castenaso), October-November, 2009, p. 102, repr. p. 98. |
| • | N. Bätzner, “Raumbilder und Bilräume”, in Che fare? Arte povera – Die historischen Jahre, exhibition catalogue, Vaduz, Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein (Heidelberg: Kehrer Verlag, 2010), p. 27 (with incorrect description of the work), not repr. (idem in the English edition). |
| • | J. Heiser, “Le mie parole, e tu? L'arte povera e le sue affinità con il concettualismo internazionale e il romanticismo”, in Il confine evanescente. Arte italiana 1960-2010, edited by G. Guercio and A. Mattirolo (Milan: Mondadori Electa, 2010), p. 136, not repr. |
| • | F. Pola, “Media immateriali per materializzare il tutto. Fotografia e film nell'Arte Povera”, in Arte povera 2011, edited by G. Celant (Milan: Mondadori Electa, 2011), p. 603, not repr. |
| • | B. Yasar, “‘Hypothesis for an Exhibition’”, in “Hypothesis for an Exhibition”, exhibition catalogue, New York, Dominique Lévy Gallery, 2014, p. 32, repr. p. 34. |
| • | J. Meinhardt, “Vedere ed essere visti. Giulio Paolini e lo sguardo”, in E. Franz et al., Giulio Paolini. Vedo e non vedo. In tema 1 (Turin-Mantua: Fondazione Giulio e Anna Paolini and Corraini Edizioni, 2014), p. 102, repr. p. 96. |
| • | G. Sergio, Information Document Œuvre. Parcours de la photographie en Italie dans les années Soixante et Soixante-dix (Paris: Presses universitaires de Paris Ouest, 2015), p. 163, repr. p. 165. |
| • | F. Pola, “L’immagine mediata”, in Imagine. Nuove immagini nell’arte italiana 1960-1969, exhibition catalogue, Venice, Peggy Guggenheim Collection (Venice: Marsilio Editori, 2016), pp. 193, 195, repr. p. 219. |
| • | B. Fontes Ferraz, “Italo Calvino e Giulio Paolini: Diálogos entre mídias”, in RevLet – Revista Virtual de Letras 08, no. 1 (Jaitaí, Brasil), January-July, 2016, p. 390, repr. |
| • | E. Grazioli, Infrasottile. L’arte contemporanea ai limiti (Milan: Postmedia books, 2018), p. 73, not repr. |
| • | D. Gavagnin, Fini & Confini. Il territorio nell’arte fotografica (Pasian di Prato: Campanotto Editore, 2018), p. 342, not repr. |
| • | La strada. Dove si crea il mondo / The street. Where the world is made, exhibition catalogue, Rome, MAXXI Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo, vol. 2 (Macerata: Quodlibet 2018), repr. p. 109. |
| • | A. Cortellessa, "Un appuntamento mancato", in Giulio Paolini / Giorgio de Chirico, edited by Id. (Turin: Nino Aragno editore, 2019), pp. 59-60, col. repr. p. 60. |
| • | M. Disch, "The Author, the Work and the Viewer: The ‘Performative’ Dimension in Giulio Paolini’s Work", in Entrare nell’opera. Processes and Performative Attitudes in Arte Povera, exhibition catalogue, Vaduz, Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein (Cologne: Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König, 2019), pp. 192-193, not repr. (illustration of the version on paper p. 64); in the German edition published in 2021 p. 83, not repr. |
| • | F. Guzzetti, “'Ich war ein Mann der Institution'”: Jean-Christoph Ammann e Processi di pensiero visualizzati", in Ricerche di storia dell’arte” 132 (Rome) 2020, p. 14, not repr. |
| • | P. Repetto, “Oltre il visibile”, in Giulio Paolini. O.D.E., exhibition catalogue, Monforte d’Alba (Cuneo), Castello di Perno (Alba: Fondazione Mancini Carini, 2022), p. 36, repr. p. 47 no. 8. |
| • | A. Cortellessa, “I rivali invisibili. Paolini e Calvino, evoluzioni fra le cornici”, ibid., p. 92, repr. p. 105 no. 13. |
| • | Giulio Paolini. A come Accademia, exhibition catalogue, Rome, Accademia Nazionale di San Luca (Rome: Gangemi Editore, 2023), repr. p. 148 (exhibition view Parma 1976). |
| • | A. Cortellessa, “La cornice e le stelle”, in G. Paolini, Idem (Milan: Electa, 2023), pp. 141-142, repr. p. 141. |
| • | S.M.S. Cammarata, “Strappare una foto. Le Cariatidi di Giulio Paolini”, in Studi di scultura. Età moderna e contemporanea 6, no. 6 (Naples), 2024, p. 281, repr. p. 283. |
| • | S.M.S. Cammarata, Arte povera e identità italiana. Le mostre di Germano Celant (Milan: Postmedia Books, 2025), p. 222, not repr. |
| • | R. Minnucci, “Out of Fous: Anna Piva and Giulio Paolini’s Artistic Partnership”, in Art and Intimacy in Modern Italy, edited by S. Hecker and T. Kittler (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2025), p. 38, not repr. |
| • | F. Belloni, “L’immagine dell’artista”, in 0424. I vent’anni della Fondazione Giulio e Anna Paolini, edited by B. Della Casa (Turin: Fondazione Giulio e Anna Paolini, 2025), p. 20, not repr. |
Entry by Maddalena Disch, 21/04/2026
