The exhibition of works by the Italian photographer at Thomas Dane Gallery runs from January 23 to May 9, 2026, offering all visitors a unique opportunity: to find out what happiness is? The main idea of the exhibition is to show that happiness is not a condition that needs to be achieved throughout one’s life, but a way of existing in the world through different images. Happiness cannot be called joy in the form of a specific spectacle – it’s something quiet, something that requires maximum precision. The curators of the exhibition are Alessio Bolzoni and Luca Guadagnino. You can get acquainted with the unique works in both halls of the Thomas Dane gallery on Duke Street in London. In this review, it will be possible to understand in more detail why Luigi Ghirri is called one of the most perceptive thinkers and how exactly he manages to define the subtle limits of perception in photography.
Physical Separation of Exhibitions
The separation of all exhibitions into two separate halls did not happen by chance. While moving between the halls, visitors make a smooth transition between different levels of perception: from surface to deep space; from image as a full-fledged object to image as a full-fledged environment.
Bolzoni and Guadagnino initially used such a curatorial approach in which there is no intrusiveness. Thanks to this, Ghirri’s internal logic easily manifests itself through the prism of juxtaposition. Therefore, it is possible to organize not just a review of original works, but to set a carefully thought-out rhythm in which one can trace Ghirri’s individual understanding. The Italian photographer demonstrates photographs as an open and simultaneously flexible system.
Early Works of the Photographer and the First Gallery Hall
In the first hall at the center, visitors are offered earlier works of the Italian photographer – these are small, unpretentious and maximally restrained works. Here you can get acquainted with such masterpieces as “Sassuolo, 1970,” and review the series of works from Modena (such photographs were created in the period from 1970 to 1973).
At first glance at these photographs, their special modesty is noted, in which lies the main advantage. The main details are called:
- individual fragments of walls;
- signs;
- parts of the horizon;
- carefully selected colors that were maximally softened – down to chalky blues and muted reds.
In all this laconicism and restraint lies the main essence of the works. Ghirri knew precisely and understood that the Italian countryside and all other modern landscapes had long ceased to be popular, to evoke genuine interest in people. They have visually exhausted themselves, there are too many different clichés and nostalgic moments in them. And instead of trying to undertake any actions to restore the pastoral ideal, which was hopelessly lost and forgotten, the photographer preferred to work in this representative vacuum.
Most of the early photographs can be called a simplified dictionary of places to which they are “attached.” For example, in the photograph “Modena,” 1971, a sign is presented pointing not to a specific direction, but beyond the frame. In another photograph from Modena, 1972, a strip of sky is neatly pressed to the color plane, which allows reducing all depth to surface. In these photos there is no narrative resolution, the author emphasizes that the viewer should focus their attention on the process of getting acquainted with, examining the photograph. Happiness here and now is attention.
Later Works and the Second Space on Duke Street
In the second space, later works of the Italian photographer are presented, which continue to work with an emphasis on surfaces, maps and signs. Here also was laid the logic when all interiors and landscapes work together, continuing their conceptual investigation. All photographs created in the mid-1970s made the room a full-fledged graphic field, and therefore the familiar home space easily turns into a “precious” atlas.
Each wall represents a page. Despite the fact that boundaries between worlds (internal and external) are important for Ghirri’s thinking, in this case they smoothly blur.
In later works, sensitivity transitions into a completely different format and goes outdoors. An excellent example can be called two bright works – “Capri” (1981) and “Croce Bianca, Piacenza” (1984). Here the color shades are maximally bright, but at the same time they are not capable of demonstrating too much sentimentality. Each composition is precise, architectural, maintains distance between the photograph and the viewer.
Landscapes from the late 1980s: “Campagna Emiliana” (1985-89), “Marina di Ravenna” (1986) cannot be called either solemn or elegiac. In these works, viewers will not see the already well-known opposition of “old and new,” countryside and industrial sphere. They depict a world that was created according to the principle of coexistence, where all possible differences are unimportant – they have long lost their characteristic visual productivity.
Main Idea of the Exhibition
One of the main and most correct curatorial ideas was the decision to bypass Ghirri’s iconic works, and instead present to the public’s attention calm, unfinished works. The main idea of the exhibition – “Felicità” – under which is hidden not a return to landscape, confirmation of the authority of photographs. This idea consists in recalibrating the gaze.
Luigi Ghirri held the opinion that each created photograph must necessarily organize attention, offer to make a pause in a world where the speed of life is in first place. Ghirri’s works are not designed to change reality, they are aimed at allowing reality to manifest itself easily, measuredly. Therefore, some of the photographer’s works have been called prophetic.