Franco Fontana

Franco Fontana (1933)

Biography and achievements

Fontana is a Modena born Italian photographer internationally known for his abstract colour landscapes. He has been said to have been one of the forefathers of colour photography.   In 1961 he joined a local amateur photography club in Modena. This experience would go on to be a turning point in his career, eventually leading Fontana to have his first solo exhibition in 1965 at the Società Fotografica Subalpina, Turin and at the Galleria della Sala di Cultura in Modena in 1968. Since then, he has participated in more than 400 group and solo exhibitions.

Notably Fontana has worked on campaigns for prominent brands including but not limited to Sony, Versace and Volkswagen. Some of his biggest achievements include winning the 1989 Tokyo Photographer of Japan and becoming the art director of the Toscana Fotofestival.

His work and my own

Fontana has worked with colour since the 1960s when he distanced his work from the established norms of black and white fine art photography. The subject of colour is what makes his art so unique, using vibrancy throughout his work he manages to create something beyond reality, even if his literal subjects are hills, buildings and pavements. Personally, I love Fontana’s work, there’s something very unique about his style that I wanted to attempt to emulate in my own work.

Focusing on colour and shape was very important as well as to look at the geometry and to be spatially aware. I think there is definitely things I could have done better to mimic Fontana’s work but as far as my own take goes it’s not bad. The colours of intense blue, yellow and green are all present in my photos and in several specific geometry has been concentrated on.