Go to homepage

Tales of Europe

Claudio Gobbi 

September  25 – October 27, 2023

Opening September 23 – 6 pm

Over the last 20 years, the Italian-born Berlin-based photo-artist Claudio Gobbi, has been working with photography on projects investigating the history of Europe, its collective memory and the concepts of borders. His research is rooted in a conceptual approach that uses the tradition of documentary photography as its starting point but broadens its horizons. 

The exhibition Tales of Europe presents one of the long-term projects of the artist. This research and open series, started in 2002, investigates the iconography of the 20th century theatre throughout Europe.   As Gobbi explains: "In the theatres, Japanese gardens or Armenian churches the main aim is to find an image that represents the evidence of a specific community, a symbol of belonging or the sign of a cultural boundary".

The series on the theatres covers over 25 countries - from Portugal to Russia, from France to Turkey - and traces a possible geography of the continent, a cultural journey through space and time, from which these places emerge as examples of shared memory, forms of perpetuation of a collective identity that seems outdated but still resists. The photographs highlight the permanent features as opposed to what changes: persistence, in fact.

One of the central themes of my work is the search for recurring features that can be considered as defining elements of a culture.

Claudi Gobbi was born in 1971 in Ancona, Italy. He studied political science in Rome and photography in Milan. Claudio Gobbi lives and works in Berlin. His illustrated book "Arménie Ville" was published by Hatje Cantz in 2016. The series "persistence" was previously only seen in Italy on this scale.

See artworks & prices

Please register here as a customer to be able to see our prices also on the website. After successful approval and login to the customer area, you can directly view and buy artworks offered online.

Register here

Only visible after login:

View available artworks

Thank you for visiting us! Our art website is designed to provide you with a personalized experience, which is why it uses cookies and analytics tools that also go to partners outside the EU ( e.g. Google), so that you get content that is relevant to you first and foremost. The website therefore focuses on you, just as we would when you visit our gallery. Of course, you are free to choose the cookie categories you want to allow, as well as to change your settings at any time. More Information ...