Giovanni Gastel. Rewind

The exhibition celebrates one of the leading figures in contemporary photography, featuring over 250 images that trace his entire career, from his first fashion covers to still lifes, portraits, advertising campaigns, and his most cherished projects.
The exhibition will also feature personal items, work tools and, for the first time, his writings and poems, which were an integral part of his imagination.

Curated by Uberto Frigerio

From January 30 to July 26, 2026, Palazzo Citterio in Milan pays tribute to Giovanni Gastel (Milan, 1955-2021), one of the masters of contemporary photography, and his artistic career.

The exhibition, curated by Uberto Frigerio, produced by La Grande Brera with the Giovanni Gastel Archive, in collaboration with the Guardans-Cambó Agency, is presented as an emotional and immersive journey that allows visitors to revisit his entire career from a new perspective, not chronological but thematic, poetic, and deeply personal.

His style stood out for its unique vision, filtered through his inner self. One of the very few Italian photographers to experiment with digital post-production since the 1990s, Gastel was able to combine craftsmanship and innovation, analog and digital, transforming photography into a recognizable language.

The exhibition, designed by Gianni Fiore, is spread throughout Palazzo Citterio and features over 250 images – including 140 previously unpublished photos, 30 iconic shots, 10 large-format images, Polaroids, and gold backgrounds – from the first fashion covers in 1977 to the most innovative still lifes, from campaigns that have marked the history of fashion to portraits of iconic figures of our time, as well as personal objects and work tools.

For the first time, an exhibition will feature some of his writings and poems, which have always been an integral part of his imagination.

The exhibition is also an opportunity to reaffirm the relationship that bound Gastel to his city. Milan, in fact, is not simply the backdrop to his professional history but a true cultural, family, social, and creative matrix that shaped his style and vision.

Gastel grew up in an aristocratic Milanese environment (his mother belonged to the Visconti family) and lived in a world halfway between aristocracy and bourgeoisie, culture and industry, poetry and pragmatism.

This alchemy gave rise to his elegant, precise, intellectual style, which is at the same time light, ironic, and free.

Milan welcomed him, shaped him, inspired him, and he reciprocated with images that captured its most authentic spirit. It is no coincidence that Harper’s Bazaar USA called him “Milan’s ambassador par excellence, the most international and the most elegant.”

His commitment to the city was tangible: he supported social initiatives such as Progetto Itaca Milano and Umberto Veronesi’s well-known campaign for the IEO, demonstrating an emotional bond that went beyond photography.