Guido Harari. Mention his name and people think of music and the portraits of famous artists he took all over the world during his 50-year career.

The exhibition Guido Harari. Incontri, 50 anni di fotografi e racconti displays more than 300 images tracing the career of the well-known photographer at Palazzo dei Diamanti (Ferrara), from 14th July to 1st October, 2023.

Installations, original films, projections and musical incursions are on display alongside pictures, as well as a photographic set and meetings with the author.

His Work

For Harari, portraiture is an intimate narrative of his encounters with the most well-known personalities of his time.

Among the many artists who have commented on his work, let us quote Lindsay Kemp: ‘Would you like to know the secret of Guido’s talent? He has the technique, the taste and the patience to organise extremely sophisticated and perfectly thought-out conceptual pictures in meticulously controlled situations.”

David Crosby says: “Look at my eyes. The way you photographed me places you right at the heart of the picture. I really like that. Because you weren’t just taking a picture: you were looking at the person”.

Besides music, Guido Harari has also worked in other fields, such as publishing, advertising, fashion and journalism.

The Exhibition Sections

The exhibition contains twelve sections, covering all the stages of Guido Harari’s eclectic career.

In addition to his work as a photographer and journalist in the music industry, he also designed various album covers for artists such as Fabrizio De André, Bob Dylan, Vasco Rossi, Kate Bush, Paolo Conte, Lou Reed and Frank Zappa.

The first section opens with an idealised reconstruction of Harari’s room as a boy, with all the posters, photos, magazines and vintage books which inspired him to enter his profession.

This is followed by others, dedicated to concerts, backstages of his concerts and recording rooms, as well as to portraits of musicians, artists and personalities from show business and cinema.

One section is dedicated to the excellence of Italian songwriting and another to the protagonists of Italian culture and society between the 20th century and the year 2000.

This is followed by a section for the unpublished research images that Harari has been producing for some years now as his personal form of meditation in progress.

There is also one dedicated to portraits of fellow photographers, as he has photographed the great names in international and Italian photography.

Books and Meetings

The section Photographing without a Camera is dedicated to his parallel passion for curating books, editing texts, documents and images, and recovering and restoring forgotten archives.

The result was the illustrated biographies of Fabrizio De André, Fernanda Pivano, Mia Martini, Giorgio Gaber and Pier Paolo Pasolini.

On the occasion of the exhibition in Ferrara, Rizzoli Lizard published Guido Harari. Remain In Light. 50 years of photographs and encounters, 432 pages with over 500 illustrations, which constitutes the catalogue.

Caverna Magica and Occhi di Ferrara

These are the names of the two sections dedicated to the photographic set and the portraits taken during the exhibition, to be shot by appointment in the Caverna Magica (in collaboration with Epson), which is a photographic set located at the end of the exhibition path.

The portrayed people will receive a print signed by Guido Harari and a second print will be exhibited at the same time, creating an ‘exhibition within the exhibition’ that ideally represents the gazes of the hosting city.

Last, but non least, A photographic tip for after the Harari exhibition. In Parco Massari you can admire and, of course, photograph the Cedars of Lebanon.

These are two majestic cedars that overlook Corso Porta Mare, welcoming visitors to the area, protected for their age, size and shape.

GUIDO HARARI. Incontri
50 anni di fotografie e racconti

July, 16th – October, 1st 2023
Where: Palazzo dei Diamanti, Ferrara
Time: 11 am – 10 pm, every day, including August, 15th

For information, bookings and tickets: www.palazzodiamanti.it

Organised by: Fondazione Ferrara Arte and Servizio Musei d’Arte of the Comune of Ferrara in collaboration with Rjma Progetti Culturali and Wall Of Sound Gallery, with the contribution of the Comune di Ancona.