Viewfinders — Matteo Girola

Studiofaganel presents Matteo Girola's solo exhibition, "Viewfinders." On display for the first time are eight works, previously previewed at the Centrale Festival in Milan (October 3-5, 2025), curated by Luca Panaro, and taken from the book of the same name, published by studiofaganel in March of this year.

Viewfinders is a work that has undergone various publishing formats over the years: from a dummy developed during a workshop at Chippendale Studio in Milan, to a small-print self-published art book, to a book published by us. Despite its large print run, it has remained an art book in many ways, including the materials used, the hand-bound binding, and, above all, the printing process, which combined offset printing with the Risograph technique (the Viewfinders' portraits).

Finally, the project reaches the form of a work of art and chooses to be so in close connection with the book: thus the works will still be floating portraits on a neutral background, still Risograph prints on paper identical to that used for the edition.

The project was born from extensive research into camera user manuals, where images were identified that were descriptive, but inappropriate, of the device's use. These images thus portray characters looking through the viewfinder, and in the mistaken and alternative gesture of holding the camera upside down, they appear to be seekers of new perspectives. Among these various reflections, the work suggests the necessity and beauty of seeking out diverse and unusual perspectives to observe reality, also thanks to the magical encounter with a camera and photography, exactly as the author himself did by recognizing and finding these portraits in a vast "archive" of images.

" It is exactly this kind of finds and observations that make me very happy and enthusiastic. Masses of people look at the same images and types of images nowadays, but it needs artists like Girola to show us the niche and meaningful images from the fringe. In this way our eyes keep on being surprised and we keep the faith that there are still images to be discovered. " (Erik Kessels)

Two other projects are also on display. "Light of My Eyes" (2019), in which the artist uses images from an ophthalmological diagnostic exam, transferred onto a slide, revealing to himself and visitors the map of his eyes, through a sculpture that resembles a magical tabernacle and an obsolete medical instrument.

And a selection of images from the series "Just a souvenir" (2015), which comes from a collection of thousands of mysterious images produced by early camera phones, uploaded online by anonymous authors, and finally preserved and selected by the author.

Girola's research, while employing diverse languages, follows the path of contemporary photography, exploring the nature of images between reality and fiction, between archives and their own production, focusing on their uncertainty, modifications, and reproducibility, and reflecting on the possibility of true photographic communication.

The inauguration will be on Saturday, November 15th at 6:30 pm, with the author in attendance in conversation with art critic Daniele Capra.

Viewfinders — Matteo Girola

November 15, 2025 – January 16, 2026

studiofaganel

edited by Sara Occhipinti, Marco Faganel

Inauguration November 15, 2025 at 6:30 PM

in the presence of the artist and art critic Daniele Capra

graphics: Andrea Occhipinti

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Saturdays and mornings by appointment

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