Gabriele Basilico, Olivetti industrial landscape

The exhibition itinerary is the result of a meticulous process of cataloguing, analysing and selecting documents held in the archives and libraries of the’Olivetti Historical Archives Association by Ivrea. The research has brought to light a rich body of documents focusing on the collaboration between the famous Milanese photographer Gabriele Basil and society Olivetti. This professional collaboration spanned the entire decade of the 1970s, continuing with a subsequent article published in the magazine Domus. The images captured are deeply intertwined with the company’s industrial history, exploring its’architecturethe design, l'technological innovation and international production challenges.

The exhibition creates a fascinating visual dialogue through a series of themed sections in which the master’s images are displayed alongside prints, slides and original contact sheets by other great photographers of the era. Among these, figures of the calibre of Jean Louis Bloch Lainé, Ezio Frea, Uliano Lucas, Francesco Radino, Pino Abbrescia, Paolo Mussat Sartor, Ugo Mulas, Gianni Berengo Gardin, Alberto Fioravanti e Mario Mulas. The route features over two hundred works, including black-and-white vintage, prints from slides e rehearsal sheets, most of which have never been exhibited to the public. The experience is enhanced by vintage publications, products e plastic, which clearly outline the stylistic signature and the photographer-architect’s perspective that have characterised the author’s body of work within the great cultural crucible of the factory.