Paolo Roversi’s photobook Studio is like a love song to photography itself — and the magic that happens in a photo studio and in the darkroom. This luscious oversized book beautifully captures the rich elegance of Roversi’s images of fashion models, young nudes, and the minimal trappings of the artist’s studio itself.

The selection of all black-and-white images for this brief retrospective of two decades of work overflows with romanticism. We see faded, scratched, weathered images of beautiful people with glowing luminous skin, surrounded by pools of rich darkness. Roversi works his trusty Polaroid in masterly fashion, using long exposures, narrow depths of field, warm light, and all of the signature quirky qualities of 8 x 10 Polaroid negatives.

Some critics have claimed that it’s easy to take wonderful pictures of beautiful young nudes. But Roversi reveals a much deeper reverence for his craft. Some of the most memorable photos in this book are the personal shots, more like fond memories in a personal scrap album, of the casual, relaxing times in between the formal sessions, and the remnants after a hard day’s work.

 — Jim Casper



Studio
by Paolo Roversi
120 pages, 57 color plates
28 cm x 32 cm
Semi-hard cover
ISBN: 978-3-86521-758-5
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