The year two-thousand-and-twenty has a graphic form that seems the repetition of a number which is, in some ways, magic, the number twenty written twice. It is the double, the dual relationship, between the story of the past and the new world, it is the time of Paolo Roversi, the photographer who will create the 2020 Calendar for Pirelli.
Often when talking about photography time is considered a technical factor, but it is not always like that. In the work of Paolo Roversi time becomes suspended and almost indefinite.
An intensity made possible through long exposures that allow for a dialogue between photographer and subject, creating an understanding that is palpable and embodies intangible but recognizable emotions, like mysticism and devotion, contemplation and ecstasy.
The images of Paolo Roversi evoke emotions and sensual, dreamlike sensations with a light that recalls the mosaics of Ravenna, his city of birth. His photographs bring out the grace and fragility of the female figure. “For me photography is not a simple reproduction of reality but a revelation, because when I take a photograph I feel I am touching another life and another world”.
And Roversi's work with the female figure returns also in the 2020 Pirelli Calendar, the theme of which is “Looking for Juliet”, an ideal casting call to find who today would best embody Shakespeare's character. It is a search, however, which never seems to end: “I – Roversi maintains – am still searching for Juliet and I think I will be searching for her for the rest of my life, because in the end Juliet is nothing less than a dream.”
Paolo Roversi, trained in the Paris in the 1970s, is considered one of the most talented contemporary photographers, above all for his style which is personal and highly recognizable.
