Emanuele Scorcelletti: Elegia Fantastica

The renowned photographer’s Elegia Fantastica takes the viewer on a fascinating journey. Scorcelletti sees the project as a poetic composition, a sophisticated elegy – capturing memories, reflections, and visions concerning relationships and places. The presentation at the Leica Gallery Wetzlar is made up of two groups of work: Memories and Visions. Once again, the photographer masterfully entices and enchants the viewer, with his captivating black and white compositions.

Scorcelletti became known for the magnificent images he has taken in the world of celebrities. Even so, he has clearly shown that he is not only an expert in glitz and glamour; he has produced wonderful and often quiet series, always developing surprisingly creative visual ideas. These images reveal, for example, his passion for horses, his abilities as a landscape photographer, and his talent in the street genre. His oeuvre effortlessly combines and unites the most diverse of worlds.

Born in Luxembourg in 1964, Scorceletti is currently living in Paris. The Elegia Fantastica project also draws on his Italian roots. Expressing his memories in intense black and white photographs, he goes on a visual journey to places in the past and searches for meaningful spaces, transforming his personal experiences into moments of collective memory with a strong emotional impact. The refined imagery found in many of the motifs in the Memories group is reminiscent of work by icons such as Mario Giacomelli and Henri Cartier-Bresson; the pictures celebrate moments of daily life. In the Visions group, the artist undertakes an exciting change of direction. Here, the pictures become abstract and flooded with light, with the blurred effect Scorcelletti prefers. He used a Leica M6 for the Memories group, while Visions was photographed with a Leica M Monochrom (Typ 246) – free from any retouching or exaggerations. In the exhibition at the Leica Gallery Wetzlar, the display is made up of a combination, which aim to delineate an exciting journey: it begins with melancholy and emotion in the first part and progresses with passion and elegance in the second.

Emanuele Scorcelletti’s parents come from the Italian regions of Marche and Friuli. He was born in Luxembourg in 1964. His mother gave him his first camera when he was just six years old and, with it, he discovered his passion for photography. He studied at the Institut National de Photographie et Cinématographie (INRACI) in Brussels. Between 1989 and 2009, he belonged to the Gamma Agency in Paris, and even today continues to work as a freelance photographer for magazines, advertising and fashion. The picture he took showing Sharon Stone on the red carpet, in front of the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, received the 2003 World Press Photo Award in the Art and Culture category. In addition to portraits and shots taken within the contexts of cinema, fashion and luxury brands, he has always worked on social projects, as well. His interest in the connections between people, the environment and nature has found its way into many of his series. Scorcelletti’s work has received numerous awards and has been exhibited widely, including at the Leica Galleries in Munich and in Salzburg.

 Quote Karin Rehn-Kaufmann:

“He is capable of doing absolutely anything: large productions, finely observed moments or seemingly chance snapshots. Time and time again, the great photographer Emanuele Scorcelletti manages to tell a story that entices the viewer to linger. Even though he loves diversity, his style remains unmistakable.”