Massimo Cristaldi

Light & Nightscapes – Solo show in Belgium (24 Sett-01 Nov 2010)

Massimo Cristaldi — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 14:55:22 +0000

It’s a pleasure to invite you all to my first solo exhibition in Belgium. The show will run from September 24th to November 1st at Samuel Maenhoudt gallery in Knokke, Belgium. The vernissage will be on Saturday, October 16th from 6.30 to 9.30pm. I’ll be present at the gallery on Saturday.

I’ll have in display the pieces from Refinery Flocks, Simulacra, Sichuan and Impressions of New York City.

Most of the artworks are big size 150×100 cm (60×40 inches) printed on Archival Pigment Paper and mounted in Dibond or Diasec.

Please RSVP gallery@samuelmaenhoudt.com

Samuel Maenhoudt Gallery in Knokke - Some Images

Related Posts:

International Photography Awards 2010

Massimo Cristaldi — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 13:41:50 +0000

My project INSULAE has been awarded at International Photography awards 2010 with two professional honorable mentions in Architecture/Buildings and in Fine Art categories.
I also got a third honorable mention in Architecture/Buildings for my photograph “Linosa”.

2010 International Photography Awards Announces Winners of the Competition

Massimo Cristaldi was awarded

About Winner:
Massimo Cristaldi was born in Catania (Italy) in 1970. His professional career started in 1994, when, after a degree in Geology, he began manging international research projects. Art is, nevertheless, the environment in which he grew up and Photography the way he can set his interior creative side free. The driving concern of his work is focused on traces that Man and time passage carve over Nature and Things, representing, in particular, effects and sings on what remains. He has been recently awarded at the International Photography Awards 2008 and 2009 at the B&W Spider Awards 2008, at the Photography Masters Cup 2008, at the Travel Photographers Of the Year 2008 and the the Prix de Photographie de Paris 2009. Massimo is represented by Farmani Gallery in the USA, Samuel Frederic Photography in Belgium, Netherland and Luxemburg and Lensmodern in the UK. Massimo Cristaldi lives between Catania and Rome.

About IPA:
The 2010 International Photography Awards received nearly 15,000 submissions from 103 countries across the globe. IPA is a sister-effort of the Lucie Foundation, where the top three winners are announced at the annual Lucie Awards gala ceremony. The Foundation’s mission is to honor master photographers, to discover new and emerging talent and to promote the appreciation of photography. Since 2003, IPA has had the privilege and opportunity to acknowledge and recognize contemporary photographers’ accomplishments in this specialized and highly visible competition. Visit www.photoawards.com for more details.

Contact:
Photographer’s Massimo Cristaldi:
mc@massimocristaldi.com

IPA Contact
Sarah Cho
Competition Director
IPA | Lucie Awards
sarah@photoawards.com
310-659-0122

Related Posts:

Imatoria (Barcelona, Spain) – 21st Century temples

Massimo Cristaldi — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 09:53:41 +0000

I’ve been awarded at Imatoria – 21st century temples with two images belonging to Simulacra.

Related Posts:

Insulae published on the NYTimes

Massimo Cristaldi — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 10:38:28 +0000

My latest work, Insulae, is today showcased, together with an interview, on the New York Times Lens Blog.

In the Italian Night, Island of ligths, by Kerri Mac Donald

Driving in the dark between Catania and Gela in Sicily, the Italian photographer Massimo Cristaldi couldn’t help gaze at something twinkling in the distance.

Ms. Cristaldi’s latest project, “Insulae,” explores the contrast between that glow and the surrounding darkness. It is the second example of his fascination with artificial light. Last August Lens recognized his haunting nighttime photographs of votive altars. That, he said, was just a starting point for his nocturnal photography.

It was driving along that road – the SS417 – that Mr. Cristaldi first discovered the U.S. Navy housing settlements Naval Air Station Sigonella and Mimeo Housing. For him, the boundary between the light and dark paralleled the physical boundary separating the settlements from the Sicilian countryside.

“These places are in a way something very, very peculiar,” he said over the phone from Catania, where he lives when he isn’t in Rome. “They are fortified; they are isolated.”

Everyone has seen distant lights on a dark road. The difference in this case, Mr. Cristaldi said, is the lack of connection. The project, the name of which means “island” in Latin, focuses on detachment.

In the dark of the night, he said, the complexes are almost prison-like, and somewhat frightening. The setting does not resemble Europe. Nor does it look like an American scene.

“America is the land of freedom,” Mr. Cristaldi said. “It’s a little bit strange, in a way, that a lot of years after the Second World War there is still a kind of deficiency of integration.”

Mr. Cristaldi, 39, is not a full-time photographer. He has a degree in geology and manages European projects dealing with environment and security. In the past year, however, he has begun to focus more on photography.

Most of the images in “Insulae” were shot on very dark nights. Mr. Cristaldi always placed himself at a distance to mark the distinction between the dark and the light. Using a two-headed tripod, he shot with both a DSLR and a medium format camera. The work began in Sicily, but he plans to extend the project, starting with a similar base in Germany.

“It’s something that is part of the landscape,” he said, before adding, “but in a very strange way.”

PDF In the Italian Night, Islands of Light – Lens Blog – NYTimes.com

PDF The New York Times – Home PageRelated Posts:

More on Social Networking

Massimo Cristaldi — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 17:23:38 +0000

Some days ago Joerg Colberg published an interesting article on Social Networking. I emailed him my January piece on the subject and he posted it back on his blog. Looks like we share a general common vision on the subject.Related Posts:

None Found

Digital asset management for photographers

Massimo Cristaldi — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 09:12:05 +0000

Sorry, but this post is not available in English.Related Posts:

Insulae in Fotofeinkost.de

Massimo Cristaldi — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 13:57:46 +0000

Fotofeinkost.de (Foto ‘delicatessen’)is a photography blog in German language curated by Martina Mettner. Marina has selected me as “Photographer of the month”. The text of her article is the following:

Inseln des Lichts in einer Landschaft in Sizilien. Sie könnten einladend sein, sind aber das genaue Gegenteil: Trutzburgen, gebaut gegen einen fiktiven Feind. Kurios findet Massimo Cristaldi es speziell, weil es Siedlungen und Einrichtungen der amerikanischen Navy sind, die hier mitten in der stillen Landschaft stehen. Ausgerechnet “the land of the free”, baut für seine Landsleute in aller Welt Siedlungen, die eher nach Gefangenenlager, denn nach Familienunterkünften aussehen. Derzeit führt Massimo Cristaldi das Projekt “Insulae” in anderen europäischen Gegenden fort.
Massimo Cristaldi hat ursprünglich Geologie studiert. Entsprechend ist die treibende Kraft hinter seiner fotografischen Arbeit, die Spuren aufzuzeichnen, die Menschen und die Zeit hinterlassen. Er schaut sehr präzise hin, insbesondere, wenn es um die Veränderungen in der Umwelt geht, und kreiert immer stimmungsvolle, manchmal fast poetische Fotografien. Letzteres gilt besonders für seine vorherige Serie “Refinery Flocks”. Vogelschwärme sammeln sich in der warmen Abluft der Raffinerie-Schlote: schön und beängstigend zugleich.
Massimo Cristaldi, der in Rom und in Catania, Sizilien, lebt, wird in den USA von der Farmani Gallery in New York, von Samuel Frederic Photography in Belgien und Holland sowie von Lensmodern in Großbritannien vertreten. Zurzeit sucht er eine Galerie in Deutschland. Der 1970 in Italien geborene Fotograf wurde mit zahlreichen Preisen ausgezeichnet: den International Photography Awards 2008 and 2009, bei den B&W Spider Awards 2008, beim Photography Masters Cup 2008, beim Travel Photographers Of the Year 2008 und beim Prix de la Photographie de Paris 2009.

and here it is the English Translation:

Islands of light in a Sicilian landscape. You may think it is inviting but here is the immediate contradiction: fortresses, built agains a fictios enemy. Massimo Cristaldi find them special also because these settlements and facilities of the U.S. Navy who are here in the middle of a quiet countryside. Called “the land of the free”, America builds for his citizen settlements all over the world that look more like prison camps, instead of family homes. Currently Massimo Cristaldi is working on the project “Insulae” in other European regions.
Massimo Cristaldi initially studied geology. Accordingly, the driving force behind his photographic work are traces left by people and time. This interest become more precise, especially when he focuses to changes in the environment, and creates more atmospheric, sometimes almost poetic photographs. The latter is particularly true for its prior series “Refinery Flocks “. Flocks of birds dancing in the warm air from the refinery smokestacks: beautiful and frightening at the same time.
Massimo Cristaldi, who lives in Rome and Catania, Sicily, is represented in the U.S. by the Farmani Gallery in New York, by Samuel Frederic Photography in Belgium and Holland as well as Lensmodern in the UK. Currently, he is looking for a gallery in Germany. Born in 1970, the Italian photographer has got numerous awards: International Photography Awards 2008 and 2009, B&W Spider Awards 2008, Photography Masters Cup 2008, Travel Photographer of the Year 2008 and Prix de la Photographie de Paris 2009.

Screen Capture of Fotofeinkost.de

Related Posts:

Insulae – 2 new photos

Massimo Cristaldi — Tue, 25 May 2010 20:23:04 +0000

I’ve published two new photographs belonging to “Insulae“.

Related Posts:

Presentazione Young Blood 2009 a Roma

Massimo Cristaldi — Sun, 16 May 2010 10:52:10 +0000

Giovedì 27 maggio ore 16.30, in occasione di ROMA. The Road to Contemporary Art al MACRO FUTURE – P.za O. Giustiniani, 4 Roma, Si svolgerà la presentazione dello Young Blood 09, annual dei talenti italiani premiati nel mondo. Anche in questa edizione, come nella scorsa, è presente un mio lavoro.Related Posts:

NY Photo Festival – pass by the Farmani Gallery

Massimo Cristaldi — Fri, 14 May 2010 14:11:51 +0000

The NY Photo festival is currently going on in Brooklyn. While you are there for visiting it pass by the
Farmani Gallery: my photographs (Refinery Flocks, Simulacra, Sichuan) are visible in the Gallery. Just ask!

Related Posts:

Poggioreale: photo essays republished

Massimo Cristaldi — Fri, 14 May 2010 13:39:18 +0000

I realized the my photo essay “Poggioreale”, published last year, was not correctly visible. So today I have republished the photographs. The essay is visibile here.Related Posts:

Fresh Fairs: some pictures of the fair

Massimo Cristaldi — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 09:05:09 +0000

At Fresh Fair each photographer has a boot…. Some snapshots of my here! Photographs are still unframed but they where travelling 10.703,84 kms / 6651.24 miles to get form Italy to Los Angeles

This photo gallery requires the Flash Player plugin and a web browser with JavaScript enabled.

Other Photographs here >Related Posts:

Los Angeles, USA – MOPLA: Fresh Fairs (23-25 April 2010)

Massimo Cristaldi — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 07:32:14 +0000

I’ve been selected for FRESH FAIRS, a juried exhibition that will open tonight and close on April 25th.

At the Photo Fair, that runs within The Month of Photography Los Angeles (MOPLA), works from Sichuan, Simulacra and Refinery Flocks will be on display.

Works on consignment on the East Coast at the Farmani Gallery.

Related Posts:

Lucie Foundation E-pprentice Mentor Program

Massimo Cristaldi — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 21:46:49 +0000

I’ve been selected, together with other 8 photographers, for the inaugural edition of the Lucie Foundation E-pprentice Mentor Program. The program pairs, for six months an emeging talent and and established professional. The mentorship started in February and it is really a stimulating experience. This is an excerpt from the press release:

The Lucie Foundation announces the first round of participants for E-pprentice, a new and exciting electronic mentorship that uses technology to bridge the physical distance between emerging and professional photographers. Through the program, “mentees” receive criticism and guidance from their mentors who are leaders and innovators of the photography industry. This modern
mentorship utilizes instant messaging and video chat programs to allow critique and discussions to occur.

The “mentees” were selected through an international, online, submissions process.
Those selected from the large pool of impressive candidates showed a solid technical
grasp and submitted a series of images that displayed a consistent aesthetic and sound
concept. The Lucie Foundation has paired each with a mentor that shares a similar
aesthetic and established this program to further expound on a specific tier of the mission
statement, which is to discover and cultivate emerging talent.

Related Posts:

A Moment in Time

Massimo Cristaldi — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 07:59:49 +0000

On behalf of the New York Times photography blog Lens, I would like to invite you and your colleagues to join us in a global project called A Moment in Time. Thousands of photographers of all experience levels will be capturing the same moment on Sunday, May 2nd at 15:00 U.T.C. That’s 8 a.m. in Los Angeles, 11 a.m. in New York City and Santo Domingo, 4 p.m. in Algiers and Paris, 7 p.m. in Moscow and 11 p.m. in Beijing.

This is the first step in trying to connect photographers around the world.

We are asking participants to think about where they want to be and what they will focus on. Consider how to represent yourself, and your community, with one image.

To help stimulate ideas we are suggesting the following categories for images:

Community
Play
Nature and the Environment
Family
Work
Arts and Entertainment
Money and the Economy
Religion
Social Issues

Photos should be no larger than 5 MB, ideally 1000 pixels wide or more. In keeping with photojournalistic standards, please keep Photoshopping to a minimum.

After you take your photos, submit your best image as soon as possible to http://submit.nytimes.com/moment . The link will go live that morning, directing you to a Web form. You will be asked to categorize your photos by location and subject, and to include a caption that helps tell the story.

Photos will quickly appear on the Lens Blog and The New York Times Web site. Your photo will be displayed in our A Moment in Time display, and may also be spotlighted in a Lens post. Please feel free to contact me with any comments or suggestions.

Check the Lens Blog for more information about A Moment in Time.

A Moment in Time is open to everyone. The project will be greatly enriched with your help. Please spread the word far and wide.

By submitting to The New York Times, you are promising that the content is original, doesn’t plagiarize from anyone or infringe a copyright or trademark, doesn’t violate anybody’s rights and isn’t libelous or otherwise unlawful or misleading. You are agreeing that we can use your submission on Lens, the photojournalism blog of The New York Times, and in the online and print version of the New York Times promoting or referring to the Lens post. Please let us know if you have any questions or comments regarding these terms.”

Related Posts:

Insulae (2009 – present)

Massimo Cristaldi — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 02:20:16 +0000

This photo gallery requires the Flash Player plugin and a web browser with JavaScript enabled.

High Res >

The series of photographs capture what appear to be ‘islands of light’ at night. There is a sense of confined gloom fighting with darkness that all around turns into oblivion and mystery. This shroud of brightness envelopes all things that are built as a defense, both the physical and the light barrier. The islands of light represent US navy housing complexes and structures located nearby, in a dark and silent countryside. They are confined and isolated ‘towns’ that are built for American soldiers and their families to live all around the world. It is an interesting example of a type of modern auto-segregation for a Nation symbolic of universal freedom…

Edition of 8 +1 author’s proof / 100 x 100 cm – 40 x 40 inches
Edition of 15 + 1 author’s proof / 50 x 50 cm – 20 x 20 inches
Archival Pigment Print

Related Posts:

Ground Zero on JOURNEY THREE

Massimo Cristaldi — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 08:34:58 +0000

Ground Zero has been published on JOURNEY THREE a beautiful 164 well printed book including the shots of the winner of the last three editions of the Travel Photographer of the Year. I got my copy yesterday and I really suggest to buy it: great photographs at a very convenient price.

Related Posts:

Published on The Photo Paper

Massimo Cristaldi — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 17:26:51 +0000

Two of my works, awarded at Photography Master Cup, have been published on the inaugural edition “The Photo Paper“.Related Posts:

London, UK – Affordable Art Fair (11-14 March 2010)

Massimo Cristaldi — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 16:22:06 +0000

My works will be exhibited in London at Affordable Art Fair from March 11 to 14 2010. They will be visible at the stand of my Gallery (Samuel Frederic Photography, Bruxelles).Related Posts:

Refinery Flocks on PERSPECTIVES

Massimo Cristaldi — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:45:56 +0000

The Center for Fine Art Photography has launched his new blog and features my Refinery Flocks today.

Related Posts: