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Gianni Berengo Gardin receives the Leica Hall of Fame Award

The lifework of Gianni Berengo Gardin, probably the most highly acclaimed Italian photographer of the post-war years, will be honoured with the Leica Hall of Fame Award by Leica Camera AG in Rome on 15 November 2017. A selection of his work will be presented in the major exhibition ‘Grandi Maestri. 100 Anni di Fotografia Leica’ in the Complesso del Vittoriano – Ala Brasini from 16 November 2017 to 18 February 2018.

Gianni Berengo Gardin decisively influenced and shaped the face of Italian photojournalism. His photography has presented us with a unique view of a nation and its people, everyday life and its special moments for over 60 years. In his work, he concerns himself primarily with reportage, architectural and travel photography and has published around 200 books. A particular emphasis must be placed on the outstanding work he published in his book titled ‘Morire di Classe’, published in 1969. With this book, Berengo Gardin’s intentionally critical and exceptionally emotive images called attention to the situation of psychiatric patients in Italian asylums. His book provoked heated discussion and ultimately led to reforms in the Italian health system.

Time after time, he has successfully struck a balance between reporting on current situations and capturing timeless moments. This explains why many of his pictures that were originally from a reportage or a published book have today become icons of classic 20th-century photography.

‘Hardly any other photographer understands how to capture both comedy and tragedy in a single picture in such an impressive and exceptional way as Gianni Berengo Gardin. In his numerous decades of work, he has photographed all facets of Italy in pictures that stand out through their precision and reveal the often socially critical viewpoint of the photographer. Gianni Berengo Gardin was the winner of the prestigious Leica Oskar Barnack Award in 1995. With the Leica Hall of Fame Award, we are now honouring Gianni Berengo Gardin for his lifework and his untiring and equally outstanding engagement as a photographer’, explains Karin Rehn-Kaufmann, Director General of Leica Galerien International.

Gianni Berengo Gardin was born in Santa Margherita (Liguria) on 10 October 1930 and spent his childhood in Rome. After the end of World War II, he and his family moved to Venice. Berengo Gardin, an amateur photographer since the early years of his youth, decided to make his career in professional photography and worked as a photojournalist for the magazine Il Mondo until 1965. After moving to Milan in 1964, he set up a studio for fashion, advertising and still life photography. Berengo Gardin has published around 200 books and has been awarded numerous prizes for his work, among them, the Prix Brassaï in 1990 and the Leica Oskar Barnack Award in 1995.

In the course of the Leica Hall of Fame Award, Gianni Berengo Gardin will also be presented with a fully-mechanical, Leica M-A analogue camera and lens made especially for him.

The Leica Hall of Fame Award

The Leica Hall of Fame Award, first awarded in 2011, shares the tradition of earlier awards instituted by Leica Camera AG and honours exceptional photographers for their particular contributions to the photographic genre and invaluable services to the Leica brand. The award winners to date are Steve McCurry, Barbara Klemm, Nick Út, René Burri, Thomas Hoepker, Ara Güler and Joel Meyerowitz.

Press Release - Gianni Berengo Gardin receives the Leica Hall of Fame Award
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Leica Camera – A Partner for Photography

Leica Camera AG is an international, premium manufacturer of cameras and sports optics. The legendary reputation of the Leica brand is based on a long tradition of excellent quality, German craftsmanship and German industrial design, combined with innovative technologies. An integral part of the brand's culture is the diversity of activities the company undertakes for the advancement of photography. In addition to the Leica Galleries and Leica Akademies spread around the world, there are the Leica Hall of Fame Award and, in particular, the Leica Oskar Barnack Award (LOBA), which is considered one of the most innovative sponsorship awards existing today. Furthermore, Leica Camera AG, with its headquarters in Wetzlar, Hesse, and a second production site in Vila Nova de Famalicão, Portugal, has a worldwide network of its own national organisations and Leica Retail Stores.