Palazzo Citterio in Milan pays tribute to Giovanni Gastel (Milan, 1955–2021), one of the masters of contemporary photography, and to his artistic career.
The exhibition, open to the public from 30 January to 26 July 2026, curated by Uberto Frigerio and organised by La Grande Brera in collaboration with the Giovanni Gastel Archive and the Guardans-Cambó Agency, presents itself as an emotional and immersive journey that allows visitors to revisit his entire career from a new perspective – not chronological but thematic, poetic and deeply personal.
The exhibition layout, designed by Gianni Fiore, unfolds within Palazzo Citterio through over 250 images, from his first fashion covers in 1977 to his most innovative still lifes, from Polaroids to gold-leaf works, from campaigns that have marked the history of fashion to portraits of iconic figures of our time, alongside personal objects and work tools.
“It was Giovanni himself,” says Uberto Frigerio, “who guided us through the entire exhibition. The search for material among texts and private notes was conducted with the intention that his own words should recount every fragment of his life, like emotional chapters. Each section stems, in fact, from his thoughts, from his inner voice, because no one knew better than Giovanni how to transform memory into image and image into narrative. It is a journey in which the visitor does not merely observe: they listen. A narrative crafted by Giovanni for Giovanni, presented to the public in its most authentic form.”
The exhibition is also an opportunity to reaffirm the bond that linked Gastel to his city. Milan, in fact, is not merely the backdrop to his professional story but a true cultural, familial, social and creative matrix that shaped his style and vision.
Milan welcomed him, shaped him and inspired him, and he reciprocated with images that captured its truest spirit. It is no coincidence that Harper’s Bazaar USA described him as “Milan’s ambassador par excellence, the most international and the most elegant”.
For further information, visit www.palazzocitterio.org.
Photo Credit
Cover: © Giuseppe Biancofiore, Giovanni Gastel, Rewind, Palazzo Citterio
Photo 1: Cover Donna, 1992, Courtesy Archivio Giovanni Gastel
Photo 2: Costume e società, Vanity Fair 2008, ©Image Service srl, Courtesy Archivio Giovanni Gastel
Photo 3: Sophisticated Ladies, Vanity Fair Italia, 2007, Courtesy Archivio Giovanni Gastel
Photo 4-5: Supershow, Vanity Fair, 2008, Courtesy Archivio Giovanni Gastel
Photo 6: © Uberto Frigerio, Courtesy Archivio Giovanni Gastel
Photo 7: Barack Obama, 2017, Courtesy Archivio Giovanni Gastel
