Biography
Italy , 1955
Giovanni Gastel was born in Milan in 1955, to Giuseppe Gastel and Ida Visconti di Modrone, the sister of the famous film maker Luchino Visconti, who in turn provided young Giovanni with his first exposure to the arts. Encountering photography in the 1970s and making first contact with the medium was a true revelation for the young artist.
In 1981, his career had its first turning point when he met his future agent Carla Ghiglieri. She introduced Gastel to the fashion world and the young photographer started to work for famous magazines such as Annabella , Vogue Italia , Mondo Uomo , and Donna .
His artistic arrival came in 1997, when the Triennale di Milano dedicated a solo exhibition to him curated by the contemporary art historian Germano Celant, in which about 200 pictures were shown and evidenced his long and prolific career.
In Italy his reputation is on par with major international fashion photographers such as Annie Leibovitz, Mario Testino, and Mario Sorrenti. Before his mother’s death, Gastel declined to work outside of Italy in order to spend time with her, but since then he has divided his time between Milan and New York, where he has become one of the officially appointed staff photographers for Harpers International Magazine .
Monica Belluci, Naomi Campbell, and Linda Evangelista have posed for the artist’s sensitive and unique eye. He works regularly for Glamour (Italia), Vanity Fair (Italy) ELLE Decor (Italia), and Harpers Magazines International (US).
Palazzo della Ragione Fotografia/Milan presents a major retrospective of his works: "Quarana Anni di Fotografia" (23rd September - 18th November 2016), curated by Germano Celant.
2015
Un Eterno Istante Angeli Caduti, Ersel, Turin
Bibbiena, soloshow , Juin, par Giovanna Calvenzi
Triennale de Milan, Mai, Milan
MIA Art Fair, avril, Milan
2014
Double Game with Toni Thorimbert, Gallery Cymbal, Rome, January, edited by Giovanna Calvenz
2013
March Ersel, staff by Valerio Tazzetti Photo & Contemporary,Turin
Giovanni Gastel for Little Prince, Palazzo Serbelloni and Auditorium of Music, Milan/Rome
MIA Art Fair, Milan, May, the Photo Gallery & Contemporary
2012
Masks and Ghosts, New York , Bosi Contemporary , May, selection of staff presented to the
Stelline Foundation Open Space, July, Red / Red / Rojo , shows with Mario Arlati
Shows with Roberto Kusterle Spilimbergo, CRAF, July, Premio Friuli Venezia Giulia
Photo Festival exhibition, Massa Marittima, Tuscany, curated by Franco Fontana
Paris Photo, November, the Galleria Photo & Contemporary, Paris
M & D Art Gallery, curated by Flaminio Gualdoni, Milan
2011
54th Venice Biennale Pavilion Italy, Milan, Palace of Regions, curated by Vittorio Sgarbi
Cose Viste, Studio Visconti, solo exhibition curated by Francesco Porzio
Master 's Hands, Palazzo Serbelloni, displays Fratelli Rossetti
2009
Genesis space , L'Oreal Academy , Paris
Masks and spectra, Palazzo della Ragione, Milan, a solo exhibition curated by Germano Celant
2008
About J, Palazzo del Ghiaccio, Milan
2007
Curve pericolose Casello, Ovest di Porta Venezia, Milano
Unreal flower, My Own Gallery, Milan
Genesi nello spazio, L’Oreal Academy,Rome
Genesi nello spazio, Fondation Sandretto Re Rebaudengo,Turin
2006
Pordenone, In hoc signo
Lucchini-Gastel visioni parallele, My Own Gallery, Milan
2005
Lo sguardo italiano. Fotografie italiane di moda dal 1951 ad oggi, Rotonda della Besana Milan
2004
Giovanni Gastel, Harrods, London,
1999
Tavole fotografiche: Fontana, Gastel, Scianna: immagini di cibo, Galleria Civica, Modena
1998
Giovanni Gastel, Galleria Il Diaframma, Milan
A noir, Palazzo della Triennale, Milan
1997
La fotografia velata, Palazzo della Triennale, Milan
1996
Krizia quarant'anni di moda, Palazzo della Triennale, Milan
1991
Il mondo di Nicola Trussardi nelle immagini di Giovanni Gastell, Palermo,
Via della Spiga, Gastel per Donna, Milan
Gioielli della Fantasia, Milano
1987
Trussardi e Gastel 1982-1987, Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnica, Milan
1986
Fashion in still life, Galleria Diaframma, Milan
1984
Scienza e Creatività nella fotografia immediate, Castello Sforzesco, Arte, Milan
