29 Arts In Progress

19/01/2026

Today we say farewell to Valentino Garavani, a man who shaped the very idea of elegance, beauty, and timeless style.

The first portrait, taken in 1962, captures Valentino Garavani at the very beginning of his journey — already composed, already unmistakable. A quiet, intense image that reveals an innate sense of grace and discipline.

These photographs show Valentino as seen through the eyes of his great friend Gian Paolo Barbieri: intimate, thoughtful, effortlessly refined. They belong to a time when fashion was not only about garments, but about vision, culture, and a shared pursuit of absolute beauty.

Among them, a contact sheet from Rome, 1969, also portrays Valentino Garavani together with Giancarlo Giammetti, bearing witness to the early years of a partnership that would redefine haute couture and leave an indelible mark on fashion history.

More than portraits, these images are fragments of a shared life — of trust, admiration, and creative complicity. A silent dialogue between a couturier and a photographer, united by the same idea of elegance beyond time.

Valentino Garavani’s legacy lives on, not only in silhouettes and gowns, but in an enduring vision of grace.

© Gian Paolo Barbieri
Courtesy Fondazione Gian Paolo Barbieri

11/12/2025

UNPUBLISHED PHOTO 2025
MUSEO DELLE CULTURE – Villa Malpensata, Lugano
On view until 12 April 2026

Unpublished Photo (UP) is an international photography competition for emerging artists aged 18 to 30. With no thematic restrictions, the contest focuses instead on conceptual clarity and the ability to articulate a coherent and thoughtful body of work.

More than 200 photographers from over 35 countries took part in the 2025 edition. The international jury, chaired by Hans Georg Berger, selected four winning portfolios, now entering the MUSEC archives.

First Prize (ex aequo)
🇺🇦 Nurlana Udovenko — Boredom
🇱🇹 Titas Valionis — Artists That Can Fly

Third Prize
🇩🇪 Mariangela Pfahler — Vertebrae

Fourth Prize
🇮🇹 Anouk Andrea Boni — Nuda ferita mortale

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21/11/2025

La pausa perfetta non la vivi davanti a uno schermo, ma davanti a un’opera d’arte.
✨ Vieni a scoprire la nuova sede Zurich a Milano: un luogo dove il nostro impegno nel proteggere il benessere delle persone prende vita, offrendo uno spazio di tranquillità dove immergersi nell’arte di Eternal Elegance – The Timeless Photography of Gian Paolo Barbieri con 29 Arts In Progress. 💙

📍 Vieni a trovarci in Via Santa Margherita 11, aperta dal lunedì al venerdì, dalle 09:00 alle 18:00.

14/11/2025

Now on view at Zurich Italia, Via Santa Margherita 11, Milan.

This iconic photograph, captured in Portofino in 1972 by Gian Paolo Barbieri, portrays Susan Robinson wearing Walter Albini.
It represents a pivotal moment in the history of Italian fashion: the encounter between Albini’s visionary genius—father of prêt-à-porter and of the concept of the total look—and Barbieri’s sophisticated, theatrical gaze.

At that time, Albini was revolutionising Italian fashion, bringing it beyond the atelier and transforming it into a contemporary cultural narrative. Barbieri translated that revolution into imagery.
Through a surreal composition — the hair-dryer helmet, the telephone, the sleeping dog, and Portofino as a picturesque backdrop — he elevates the scene into a refined and ironic portrait of its era, anticipating fashion as both language and spectacle.

This collaboration helped define the aesthetics of Made in Italy in the early 1970s, crystallising an image that still speaks of style, innovation, and an Italy capable of reinventing itself through the dialogue of extraordinary creative minds.

© GIAN PAOLO BARBIERI
Susan Robinson for Walter Albini
Portofino, 1972
Courtesy of 29 ARTS IN PROGRESS Gallery, Milan / Fondazione Gian Paolo Barbieri

Please inquire for availability and pricing.

16/10/2025

16/10/2025

A rare and previously unseen photograph by Gian Paolo Barbieri captures a playful moment between two creative geniuses — Barbieri himself and Giorgio Armani — during a summer escape in Greece.

The scene radiates irony and joy: a donkey wearing sunglasses aboard a boat, surrounded by laughter and friendship. It’s an image that reveals the lightness and humanity behind Barbieri’s lens — a master who always found beauty in spontaneity.

📍 On view at Zurich Italia, Milan
🖼️ Courtesy of 29 ARTS IN PROGRESS gallery

Copyright
© Gian Paolo Barbieri

Giorgio Armani, Ingrid Boulting
and Lidia Coppola
Corfù, 1972
Contemporary fine art inkjet print
Edition of 7
60 x 60 cm
Signed, titled, dated and numbered on Studio Authenticity Sticker
Please inquire for availability and pricing

07/10/2025

Eternal Elegance — Gian Paolo Barbieri
Now on view at the new headquarters of Zurich Italia and Zurich Bank,
Via Santa Margherita 11, Milan — just steps away from Teatro alla Scala.

In these visionary images from his Venezuela series (1976), Gian Paolo Barbieri transforms the tropical exuberance of South America into pure visual poetry.
Created for Vogue Italia, these photographs blend fashion and nature, myth and modernity — from the pink vibrancy of Caracas’ Botanical Garden to the majestic flight of a condor borrowed from the city’s museum.
With his inimitable eye, Barbieri captures a world where colour, culture, and imagination coexist in timeless elegance.

📍 Eternal Elegance — A photographic journey by Gian Paolo Barbieri
at Zurich Italia’s new Milan headquarters, in partnership with 29 ARTS IN PROGRESS gallery.

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Images:
Gian Paolo Barbieri, “Laura Alvarez, Venezuela”, 1976
Fine art inkjet print, edition of 5, 90 × 90 cm
Signed, titled, dated and numbered on Studio Authenticity Sticker
© Gian Paolo Barbieri — Courtesy of 29 ARTS IN PROGRESS gallery



.paolo.barbieri

29/09/2025

Da Escher a Gauguin, passando per Barbieri e Rodney Smith: la guida alle mostre imperdibili di ottobre 2025 a Milano, Roma, Rovigo, Pisa e Possagno.

29/09/2025

Gian Paolo Barbieri ❤️

28/09/2025

Image:
© Gian Paolo Barbieri
Alberta Tiburzi, Kenya, 1969
Contemporary fine art print
165 × 110 cm
Edition of 3 — signed, titled, dated and numbered on Studio Authenticity Sticker.

“Water has always been part of my life… it is a primordial element, sacred since antiquity, the origin of life and the beginning of an artistic journey.” — Gian Paolo Barbieri

Created for Vogue Italia, this photograph is currently on view together with other works by the artist at the new Zurich Italia headquarters, Via Santa Margherita 11, Milan (Mon–Fri, 9am–6pm).

📩 Inquiries: [email protected]


.paolo.barbieri

26/09/2025

A selection of works by Gian Paolo Barbieri is now on view at the new Zurich Italia headquarters, Via Santa Margherita 11, Milan.
The exhibition is open until 15 January 2026, Monday to Friday, from 9 am to 6 pm.

Among the works on display is this iconic photograph from 1993, taken in the Seychelles with Yasmeen Ghauri for Gianfranco Ferré.
Ferré loved grand scenographies: Barbieri conceived a striking composition, arranging natural elements on set and hand-painting the monumental leaves to amplify their visual power — all achieved long before the age of Photoshop.
The negative, preserved for many years at the Gianfranco Ferré Research Center, has only recently been printed for the first time, making this work a rare opportunity to encounter Barbieri’s vision anew.

We are delighted to see photographic art entering new spaces, where it can inspire audiences in unexpected contexts.
—
Copyright GIAN PAOLO BARBIERI
Yasmeen Ghauri for Gianfranco Ferré, Seychelles, 1993
Contemporary fine art print
Edition of 3 · 165 × 110 cm
Signed, titled, dated and numbered on Studio Authenticity Sticker

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paolo.barbieri

19/09/2025

🖤

Images by Italian fashion photographer extraordinaire Gian Paolo Barbieri are currently on show in Milan.

Barbieri was renowned for his cinematic vision, his eye for composition and his ability to capture beauty. ‘Eternal Elegance’, the first major exhibition since the photographer’s passing in 2024, celebrates his amazing 60-year career. It includes iconic works as well as lesser-known images, including unforgettable portraits of Audrey Hepburn, Naomi Campbell, Tree Allen, and many others.

The exhibition is hosted at the new headquarters of Zurich Italy and Zurich Bank at Via Santa Margherita 11, Milan. It has been created in collaboration with Milan-based gallery 29 Arts in Progress and runs until 16 January 2026.

Image: Lilly Bistrattin for Pomellato Vogue Italia, Milano 1971 © Gian Paolo Barbieri courtesy of 29 ARTS IN PROGRESS/Giada Barbieri