From the early 2000s, the Mast Foundation of Bologna began a work of dissemination on the relationship between photography and industry, through its biennial and the awards dedicated to young contemporary artists.
Born from the iconographic archive of Coesia, a group of Bolognese companies, over time the foundation has acquired an extraordinary number of works from galleries, auction houses, individuals, photographers and artists. A collection that today has more than six thousand images including photos and videos that, with internationally renowned and unknown authors, represents the industrial development in society.
Starting from this exceptional heritage, the curator Urs Stahel has developed The Mast collection – A visual alphabet of industry, work and technology, an exhibition that for the first time draws on about five hundred images of the foundation. Authors such as Henri Cartier-Bresson, Richard Avedon, Mimmo Jodice, André Kertesz and Dorothea Lange mark the conceptual chapters that unfold along this visual and exhibition alphabet. An articulated narrative in which the most disparate genres, techniques and projects meet and accompany the viewer on a parallel path that combines the history of industrialization with that of photography.
The exhibition will be open until 22 May.