Coinciding with the publication of the Aperture book of the same title, Aperture Gallery is pleased to present It’s Beautiful Here, Isn’t It…, THE first major U.S. exhibition of photographs by Luigi Ghirri, featuring both vintage and contemporary prints. During his short life, Ghirri revolutionized Italian photography in the 1970s, and is widely considered a pioneer and master of contemporary color photography. His work has influenced a generation of photographers, including Olivo Barbieri, Martin Parr, and William Eggleston.

Playing with different perspectives, his fresh, color observations of Italy’s contemporary culture are witty, poetic, and often surreal. As William Eggleston notes in the preface of the book, “He teases the viewer about what is real and what is not.” Ghirri’s eclectic array of subjects included maps, charts, books, billboards, signs, advertisements, and his own possessions. His images are visually profound and are about the nature of representation and seeing.

Luigi Ghirri (born in Scandiano, Italy, 1943–1992) studied and worked in Modena. He exhibited throughout Europe, with solo shows in Geneva, Amsterdam, Arles, and Cologne, as well as at the Light Gallery, New York. His work is in numerous collections, including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris; and Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montreal. Of the twenty-five monographs published of his work, none have been in English, It’s Beautiful Here, Isn’t It… (Aperture, June 2008) is Ghirri’s first book to get major distribution in the United States and introduce his seminal work to the large international audience it deserves. His estate is represented by Julie Saul Gallery, New York.