An interview with Gianfilippo De Rossi

von Florian Kazimirski | Nov 29, 2018 | blog, Gianfilippo De Rossi, Interviews, Kunst/Art

Gianfilippo is an Italian photographer and lives in Rome and Los Angeles. He studied at Santa Monica College and worked with legendary photographer Douglas Kirkland and for several prestigious magazines.

As part of our MNML exhibition, we conducted an interview and talked about deserted cities, the power of color and hard work. Have fun!

Deserted landscapes

GM: Dear Gianfilippo, We are more than happy to welcoming you to the Galerie Minimal and would like to get to know you a little better.
Can you tell us where you came from and where you live today?
I am originally from Rome but for the past 12 years I have lived in Los Angeles. At the moment I’m back in Rome.
GM: What is it that you see when you look through the camera?
Colors aurate a special attraction to my eye. Colors and geometric shapes. They create an intellectual pleasure in me. If I can unite them harmoniously in a picture, that just gives me a good feeling.

GM: How did you come to that realization?

I started photographing people on the street. Imperfect scenes. The everyday drama. After a while, I needed a break from it. I was looking for reassurance and precession and wanted to create images that say more by showing less. So I just concentrated on forms. I strapped a pinhole optic in front of my camera.
(Note from GM: A pinhole optic is a lens with a very small aperture, which allows for very long exposure times, making everything that moves in the image vanish.)
I was fascinated by the deserted pictures.

in the middle of the city.

Then, step by step, I kept on working on the compositions. And the colors. I think photographers like Franco Fontana, William Eggleston, Douglas Kirkland and painters like Edward Hopper, De Chirico have really influenced me.

GM: What is your favorite picture?

I have an emotional attachment to all of my photographs but I think my favorite photography is yet to come. The pictures that you have selected for Galerie Minimal are definitely in the top 5.
GM: Of course 🙂

What does Minimal Photography mean to you?

For me, it means being able to arouse a variety of emotions in me and the observers with only a few elements. It takes the photographs to a new level. Sometimes it seems almost unreal. Then I like the pictures the most. Minimal photography means discovering surreal beauty and simplicity in everyday life.
GM: Thank you Gianfilippo! One last question: If we were to tell our guests something important about you, what would that be?
I have spent many years of hard work developing my style. An eternal trial, failure and start from scratch until I finally discovered what makes sense to me and what makes me happy.

Thank you very much Gianfilippo.