His knowledge of chemistry, learnt during his university studies, allowed him to undertake research on photographic toning in the late 1970s. This allowed him to be amongst the first photographers in Italy to become involved in the study of colour, freeing himself from the predominance of black-and-white photography.
Thanks to the research on photographic toning in 1981 he was chosen by Time Life as one of the six most important up-and-coming photographers of the year; his portfolio was published in the yearbook Photography Year.[2][3]
He worked for Condé Nast[4] from 1981 to 2007. He combines fashion photography with research that in 1981 lead him to realize a series of photographs during a trip to the United States in the company of Franco Fontana. These works are shown at the Galleria Civica[5] in Modena in 1984. The same year he too part in a travelling exhibition on Italian photography atone of the more important galleries in China.
In 1984 moved to Japan, where he worked for Mamiya and begins to design clothing.[6]
Between 1984 and 1993 he traveled from Tokyo to Bali and then to New Zealand.
In 1993, after returning to Italy, he moved to Milan, but maintained a refuge in an old house in Torrechiara, in the province of Parma, at the foot of a castle.
In 2008 he started "Milano Notte", new work in which the Lombard city is photographed in its nocturnal solitude. He will conduct the same work in the city of Tokyo between January 2010 and December 2011. One of his most recent projects, begun in 2010 and still in progress, is "Mouche à lire":[7][8] carefully selected pages of books on which to place a fly, immortalizing the dipteran on the written page, evidence of a long devotion and passion for reading.
Another of his most recent projects is "Magnetica": the research consists in putting on a magnet rotating at a steady speed, paper prisms or small objects made of glass or plastic that, thanks to the long exposure time of the camera; those make the illusion of three-dimensional shapes.
The last published project is "Tensione superficiale": it focuses on the return of the chemical phenomenon that is highlighted in images where the water falls form spherical geometries, that the human eye can hardly grasp.
Main series
Margini, viaggio senza ritorno (1978–1985)
It is the author's first project. Mainly shot around Colorno, it is made of a group of images where the author shoots the landscape from the inside of a car, so that the automobile is visible. In another group of images the car is abandoned at the side of the road and the framing is focused on both the automobile and the surroundings. In the last group of images abandoned farmhouses, level crossings and filling stations are found. The photographs were toned by the author himself, with his own chemical recipes.
Cucina della mamma sorpresa nella notte (1980–1983)
The author shot in his own house. Most of the images focus on common objects like the phone, plates, a sponge or a cup. The photographs were toned by the author himself.
Troppo cazzo (1980)
The project consists in reinterpreting the Parma lowland adding a plastic phallus to the scenario, an alienating, ironic and intentionally provocative presence.
Passeggiata a Pisa (1981)
The project originates from the request of Giacinto Gnudi, the then president of the Tourism Agency of the province of Pisa, to produce a photographic documentation of the city. The historical inner city is almost always represented without the human presence.
USA (1982)
Photographs were taken during a journey in the USA together with the photographer Franco Fontana. The projects shares many points in common with "Margini, Viaggio senza ritorno", one being the investigation on the relationship between the automobile and the landscape.
Tokyo perduta (1985–1987)
The project consists in blurred pictures of the city of Tokyo. The objective of the author was to return the emotional stiffness of the city.
Humus (2004–2013)
The series focuses on documenting the hills nearby Parma and in particular the woods and the trees in that area.
Erbe (2008)
The point of view is no longer that of the human being: the camera is placed on the ground to simulate the perspective of a mouse or an insect.
Milano Notte (2008–2015), Nippon Night (2011), Parma dorme (2013–2014)
The three projects include shots taken at night.
The main feature is again the absence of human beings and the relationship between the automobiles and the city architectures.
Mouche à lire (2009–2015)
Photographs immortalize dipterans leaned on pages of books written by the authors that characterized the author's readings, such as Kerouac, Kafka e Flaiano
Magnetica (2014–2015)
One of Pezzani's most recent projects is "Magnetica": the research consists in putting on a magnet rotating at a steady speed, paper prisms or small objects made of glass or plastic which give the illusion of three-dimensional shapes thanks to the long exposure time of the camera.
Tensione superficiale (2016)
The project focuses, as the title suggests, on the return of the chemical phenomenon that is highlighted in images where the water falls form spherical geometries, that the human eye can hardly grasp.
Blues Smoke (2017–2018)
With this project the author continues his research on the capability of photography to return the "not visible": clouds made of smoke that seem to lay on a completely black background, a uniformity able to highlight lines and volumes of almost transparent contortions, of a delicate veil that change their shapes continuously.
Girovaghi (2019)
Using the same technical gimmick as in the "Magnetica" project, some portraits taken of friends and artists seem to move swirling in space, rendering multiple personalities.
Covidi (2020)
During the long period of isolation caused by COVID-19, the author transforms his own home into a photographic set, relating everyday objects in an ironic and often grotesque dialogue.
Domestic stories, expressions of surreal intimacy and improbable balances.
La collezione involontaria (2021)
A project[9] commissioned by The Humanitarian Society of Milan whose aim was to bear witness to the Milanese institution's collection, recontextualising the works within the host architecture.
Mondo adulto (2022)
Photographs that, through a subtly ironic narrative, show the female body in the eroticism of everyday gestures.
Main publications
Arturo Carlo Quintavalle (1979). Enciclopedia pratica per fotografare (in Italian). Vol. A–C. Milan: Fratelli Fabbri Editori.
Arturo Carlo Quintavalle (1980). Gianni Pezzani (in Italian). Milan: il Diaframma Ediphoto.
"il diaframma" (in Italian) (248). Milan: il Diaframma Ediphoto. 1980. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
"Photography Year 1981". Photography Year. Alexandria, Virginia (USA): Time-Life Books. 1981. ISSN0090-4406.
Photography Year 1981–82. London: Time-Life Books. 1981. ISBN0705403890.
Linee della ricerca artistica in Italia 1960-1980 (in Italian). Rome: De Luca Publisher. 1981.
Giuseppe Bonini, ed. (1982). Luoghi dell'Immaginario, momenti della fotografia italiana contemporanea (in Italian).
Selection 1983. Tokyo, Ginza: Kodak Nagase Photo Salon. 1983.
T-Show. Storia e nuovi stili della T-Shirt (in Italian). Milan: Electa. 1984. ISBN8843510282.
Giuseppe Bonini, ed. (1984). Simulacri del paesaggio: mostra di: Augusto De Luca, Gianni Pezzani, Mimmo Jodice, Maurizio Mantovi (in Italian). Modena: Panini.
Ken Damy (1984). Gianni Pezzani (in Italian). Milan: Edizioni Progresso Fotografico.
"British Journal of Photography (annuario)". The British Journal of Photography. 1985. ISSN0007-1196.
Arturo Carlo Quintavalle, ed. (1985). Tendenze artistiche in Italia 1970–1985 (in Italian). Rome.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Fotografi italiani. Diario immaginario di Lanfranco Colombo (in Italian). Bergamo: Bolis Edizioni. 1993. ISBN8878270482.
Arturo Carlo Quintavalle (1994). Messa a fuoco. Studi sulla fotografia (in Italian). Milan: Feltrinelli. ISBN880710010X.
VITA DA BAMBINO nelle immagini di 108 fotografi italiani (in Italian). con un racconto di Bianca Pitzorno. Udine: Arti Grafiche Friulane. 1995. ISBN88-86550-13-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
Giannino Malossi, ed. (1998). The Style Engine. New York: The Monacelli Press. ISBN1885254954.[10]
Giannino Malossi, ed. (1998). Il Motore della Moda (in Italian). New York: The Monacelli Press. ISBN8879400452.[10]
Arturo Carlo Quintavalle, ed. (2000). Gianni Pezzani, Quaderno n. 77 (in Italian). Parma: Centro Studio e Archivio della Comunicazione, Università di Parma.
Roberto Mutti, ed. (2002). "Immagine Fotografica", n. 328, Portfolio (in Italian).
Guido Vergani, ed. (2004). Dizionario della moda (in Italian). Milan: Baldini Castoldi Dalai. ISBN8880898663.
TRASH. Impressioni sull'ambiente (in Italian). 2004.
Il Diaframma di Lanfranco Colombo. I Maestri della Fotografia (in Italian). Peggy Guggenheim Collection. 2005.
Philippe Daverio; Jean Blanchaert, eds. (2007). 13 x 17. Mille artisti per un'indagine eccentrica sull'arte in Italia (in Italian). Milan: Rizzoli. ISBN978-8817018951.
Carlo Mambriani, ed. (2009). Il Bosco di Torrile: storia e futuro di una foresta perduta (in Italian). Reggio Emilia: Diabasis. ISBN978-88-8103-640-0.
Tempo Zero 2010, calendario del Comune di Milano (in Italian). Nava Design. 2010.[11][12]
Arturo Carlo Quintavalle; Gloria Bianchino, eds. (2010). Nove100 (in Italian). Milano: Skira. ISBN978-8857205618.
Arturo Carlo Quintavalle; Gloria Bianchino, eds. (2012). I Mille scatti per una storia d'Italia (in Italian). Milan: Skira. ISBN978-8857214269.
Arturo Carlo Quintavalle (2013). Gianni Pezzani. Ombre (in English and Italian). Milan: Skira. ISBN978-8857221762.
Gianni Pezzani; Andrea Tinterri (2014). Parma dorme (in Italian). Milan: Skira. ISBN978-8857225630.
Arturo Carlo Quintavalle, ed. (2014). Fuoco nero. Materia e struttura attorno e dopo Burri (in Italian). Milan: Skira. ISBN978-8857222042.
Noema Gallery, ed. (2015). Gianni Pezzani. Magnetica (in English and Italian). with texts by Denis Curti and Andrea Tinterri. Pesaro: Greta Edizioni. ISBN978-88-99367-01-5.,
"L'Aperitivo Illustrato" (in English and Italian) (69). Pesaro: Greta Edizioni. 2015. ISSN2037-0490. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
"#AI Magazine - The Art Review" (in Italian) (75). 2017. ISSN2037-0490. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
Gianni Pezzani, ed. (2023). Inclassificabile (in Italian). Parma: Nuova Editrice Berti. ISBN9788873648123.
^Exhibition review by Angelo Schwarz (in Italian): "La cucina della mamma e l'oggetto da Sex-shop, il fallo di plastica (ma di primo acchito sembra vero).
Due cose che non-styear facilmente insieme. Eppure, malgrado la diversità dei soggetti, il fotografo è sempre coerente, è sempre lui. E non-soltanto per la preziosità dei colori delle immagini mirabilmente virate.
Al proposito, sarebbe interessantissimo un workshop di Pezzani sulle tecniche di viraggio: non è facile, anche tecnicamente, produrre immagini del genere.
Tornando al fotografo, nelle sue fotografie mi pare ci siano insieme dolcezza, tristezza, durezza e voglia di raccontare un quotidiano, senza ricorrere a quell' elogio del banale oggi così radicale che è ormai diventato di moda, quasi un genere.
Finalmente una cucina della mamma senza il mammismo.
Finalmente la rappresentazione del fallo in un mondo che lo ha sempre in bocca, che lo esorcizza usandolo in continuazione come un neologismo (questo cazzo di discorso, questa cazzo di politica, questa cazzo di cultura, ecc.), ma che lo nasconde perché fa paura, disturba, fa senso, non è estetico oppure lo si esibisce, adeguandolo alle esigenze di mercato.
Pezzani è timido, ma come tutti i timidi se gli dai un po' di corda, ti rovescia addosso tanto coraggio da quasi far paura: ed è che non si può essere coraggiosi da soli.
Tutto questo si può scrivere a proposito di Pezzani e delle sue fotografie, perché anche questo si può comunicare con delle immagini un po' meccaniche, un po' artigianali.
Angelo Schwarz
Stare attenti che in galleria non entrino dei minori, perché una denuncia e un processo non ce lo leva nessuno, e magari una condanna. L'episodio di Krims a Castel Fiorentino è finito così anche se il giudice (come persona) era progressista: ma la legge è un'altra cosa e ciò che è pudore o osceno è... variabile.
A.S."
