Claudio took photographs of several of my works with thought and tenderness, all the while understanding his surroundings and capturing the drama created by these instances of formal disruption.

(Jannis Kounellis)

Almine Rech Gallery is pleased to present a selection of photographs bearing witness to the unique moments immortalised by Claudio Abate during the emergence of the Arte Povera movement in Rome.

It was a period when Abate’s chosen synchronies made way for the natural, the ephemeral, and the instinctive, be it in live performances he experienced or in the photographic freeze-frames he captured ranging from Vedova blu by Pino Pascali (1968) to Rovesciare i propri occhi by Giuseppe Penone (1970), from 120 metri al secondo by Maurizio Mochetti (1971) to the iconic Cavalli with Jannis Kounellis in 1969.

This exhibition not only aims to shed light on the way Abate’s photographs are able to perfectly render the works of extraordinary artists and to capture unique performances but also suggests that each image can be appreciated as an art piece in its own right. More than just a photographer, he became a true eyewitness of unforeseen artistic revolutions in Europe. His shots constitute precious documentation of events of which we would otherwise have no record and are therefore emblematic of a period.