Robert Polidori (Canadian, born )

Robert Polidori (Canadian, b.1951) is a photographer who loves to photograph architectural works and the surrounding environment. Polidori was born in Montreal, Canada, and moved to the United States when he was ten years old. In 1969, Polidori got a job as assistant to New York filmmaker Jonas Mekas (American, b.1922) of Anthology Film Archives. He helped the filmmaker produce several avant-garde films during the early 1970s. Polidori attended the State University of New York at Buffalo, graduating with an MA in 1980. He developed his major interest in still photography thereafter.

Polidori's photographs tend to depict city places almost lost from view, bringing them to life with a certain captivating magic that makes his photographs unique. Most people believe the analytical nature of Polidori's works stems from pre-Renaissance and Renaissance perspectives, and that this effect is achieved by the artist's utilization of the nature of the modern camera lens, which brings a high level of detail into focus. Polidori has been involved in his share of controversies, especially in blogs and other online media. A good example of this is the criticism he received from New Orleans photographer William Greiner (American, b.1957) in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Polidori had photographed a dead victim of the hurricane, and several of his photographs depicting other devastating effects of Katrina aroused controversy when they were used commercially in Brazil.

Polidori has been involved in the publication of several books of photography, notably Metropolis (2005), After The Flood (2006), and Robert Polidori: Parcours Museologique Revisite (2009). He has participated in a number of exhibitions in locations such as the CEPA Gallery, in Buffalo, NY, in 1979, the Galerie Jaques Gordat, in Paris, France, in 1991, the Nicholas Metivier Gallery, in Toronto, in 2005, and Pripyat and Chernobyl, Galerie Camera Work, in Berlin, Germany, in 2011. Some famous examples of his photographs includeMareb, Yemen (1994), Temple Keeper, Varanasi, India (1998), and Yazd, Iran, No 2 (1999). Polidori is represented by the Edwynn Houk Gallery, in New York, NY, and he is a staff photographer for The New Yorker. Polidori has been the recipient of several awards including the World Press Award in 1998 and the Alfred Eisenstaedt Award for Magazine Photography in 1999 and 2000. Polidori became an American citizen in 2009 and now lives and works between Paris, France and New York.

Timeline

1951
Born in Montréal, Quebec, Canada
1980
M.A., State University of New York, Buffalo
1998
World Press Award for Art
1999
Alfred Eisenstadt Award for Magazine Photography, Architecture
2000
Alfred Eisenstadt Award for Magazine Photography, Architecture
1998–2006
Staff Photographer at the New Yorker Magazine
1998–2006
New Yorker Magazine
2006–2007
Deutscher Fotobuchpreis (für / for „After the Flood“)
2008
Liliane Bettencourt Prix de la Photographie (für / for Parcours Muséologique Revisité)
Lives and works in Ojai, California, USA

Exhibitions

2018
Robert Polidori Selected Exhibitions in 2018:
Robert Polidori, Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York, NY (solo exhibition)
PHOTOFAIRS San Francisco, The Lapis Press
ZONAMACO, Paul Kasmin Gallery
2017
Robert Polidori Selected Exhibitions in 2017:
Art Basel Miami Beach, Paul Kasmin Gallery
Photo, Galerie de Bellefeuille, Montreal, Canada
2016
Robert Polidori Selected Exhibitions in 2016:
Robert Polidori: Ecophilia / Chronostasis, Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York, NY (solo exhibition)
Robert Polidori: 1986-2016 Remembering Chernobyl, Galerie Karsten Greve, Paris, France (solo exhibition)
2015
Robert Polidori Selected Exhibitions in 2015:
Robert Polidori, Camera Work, Berlin, Germany (solo exhibition)
Robert Polidori, Exteriors and Interiors, Galerie Karsten Greve, Köln, Germany (solo exhibition)
Robert Polidori, Versailles, Edwynn Houk Gallery, Zurich, Germany (solo exhibition)
Frontiers Reimagined: Art that Connects Us, Museo di Palazzo Grimani, Venice, Italy
2014
Robert Polidori Selected Exhibitions in 2014:
Robert Polidori, Spuren der Zeit, Museum Bad Arolsen, Bad Arolsen, DE (solo exhibition)
Versailles, The Memories of Walls, Fontana Gallery, Amsterdam, NL (solo exhibition)
Robert Polidori, Selected Works, Erie Art Museum, Erie, Pennsylvania, PA (solo exhibition)
Acchrochage, Galerie Karsten Greve AG, St. Moritz, CH
Kûnstlerräume, Galerie Karsten Greve, Cologne, DE
2013
Galerie Karsten Greve, Paris, France (solo)
2013
Scale, Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto, ON
2013
Memory Theatre 2013, Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester, Rochester, NY Send message
2013
Robert Polidori, Faulconer Gallery, Grinnell, IA (solo)
2012
World Inventory, Weinstein Gallery, Minneapolis, MN (solo)
2012
Robert Polidori Retrospective; Grinnell College, Grinnell, IA (solo)
2012
Robert Polidori Retrospective; 10 Corso Como, Seoul (solo)
2012
Portraits : Robert Polidori & Jonas Mekas; Edwynn Houk Gallery, New York, NY (solo)
2012
Interieurs: Angela Grauerholz, Lynne Cohen & Robert Polidori, Art 45, Montreal, QC
2012
Group Show, Sundaram Tagore Gallery, Hong Kong, Hong Kong, SAR
2012
Beyond Words: Photography in The New Yorker, UCCA - Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing
2012
Jonas Mekas / Robert Polidori: Portraits, Edwynn Houk Gallery, New York City, NY
2011
Robert Polidori : Versailles, Galleria Carla Sozzani, Milano (solo)
2011
Robert Polidori – Ars Memorativa, Sundaram Tagore Gallery, Hong Kong (solo)
2011
The Art of Collaboration with Bottega Veneta
2011
Spectrum: East/West/Beyond, Sundaram Tagore Gallery - Hong Kong, Hong Kong, SAR
2011
Celebrating Noma's Centennial, New Orleans Museum of Art NOMA, New Orleans, LA
2011
The Interior World, Danziger Gallery, New York City, NY
2011
Fifteen Years, Weinstein Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
2011
Structure, Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto, ON
2011
Weinstein Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
2011
Process, Edwynn Houk Gallery, New York City, NY
2011
Weinstein Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
2011
Yangtze - The Long River, Camera Work, Berlin
2011
Pripyat and Chernobyl, Galerie Camera Work, Berlin, Germany
2011
Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID (solo)
2010
Robert Polidori, Camera Work, Berlin, Germany (solo)
2010
Bredaphoto 2010, Bredaphoto, International Photo Festival, Breda
2010
Il ventre dell’architetto, Jarach Gallery, Venice
2010
Photography, Flowers Galleries, Cork Street, London, UK
2010
Art of Caring. A Look at Life through photography - Cincinnati Museum Center, Cincinnati, OH
2010
DIVERSIDADE E AFINIDADES: Universo x reverso, ECCO - Espaco Cultural Contemporaneo, Brasilia
2010
Summer 2010, Weinstein Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
2010
40 Years On Selection of works by Artists affiliated to Flowers over the past 40 years, Flowers Galleries, Kingsland Road, London
2010
Robert Polidori : Versailles; Arthur Rogers Gallery, New Orleans, LA (solo)
2010
Robert Polidori : Versailles; Flowers Gallery, London (solo)
2009
Robert Polidori Fotografias; Instituto Moreira Salles, Sao Paulo (solo)
2009
Robert Polidori Fotografias; Instituto Moreira Salles, Rio de Janeiro (solo)
2009
Robert Polidori; Musee d’Art Contemporain, Montreal (solo)
2009
Stigmata, Musée de l’Elysee, Lausanne
2009
Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London
2009
Alec Soth: Fashion Magazine, Paris; Robert Polidori: Versailles; Nicolas Africano: Sculpture, Weinstein Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
2009
The art of caring: A Look at Life Though Photography, New Orleans Museum of Art NOMA, New Orleans, LA
2009
Wonderland, McClain Gallery, Houston, TX
2009
Trouble in Paradise: Examining Discord between Nature and Society, Tucson
2009
Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ
2008
After The Flood, Odgen Museum, New Orleans, LA (solo)
2008
Robert Polidori, CameraWork, Berlin (solo)
2008
After The Flood; Arthur Roger Gallery, New Orleans, LA (solo)
2008
Remembering Dakota, Chazen Museum of Art, Madison, WI
2008
Brasil desFocos [o olho de fora], Paço das Artes, São Paulo
2008
The Interior: Contemporary Photographic Views, Weinstein Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
2008
Somewhen, Jarach Gallery, Venice
2008
Remembering Dakota, North Dakota Museum of Art, Grand Forks, ND
2008
Versailles: Etats Transitoires, Edwynn Houk Gallery, New York (solo)
2007
After the Flood, Jarach Gallery, Venice (solo)
2007
After the Flood, Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto (solo)
2007
New Works by Gallery Artists, Flowers Galleries - Cork Street, London, UK
2007
says the junk in the yard, Flowers Galleries - Kingsland Road, London, UK
2007
Brasil desFocos [o olho de fora], Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil - CCBB - Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ
2007
Ingenium.Photographie et Ingeniosite 1846 – 2006, BOZAR - Palais des Beaux-Arts / Paleis voor Schone Kunsten, Brussels
2006
Edwynn Houk Gallery, New York
Flowers, London
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin
‘the living is easy,’ Flowers, London
2005
Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto
2004
Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA
Weinstein Gallery, Minneapolis
Contact, Toronto
2003
Pace/MacGill Gallery, New York
CameraWork, Berlin
2001
Grant Selwyn Fine Art, Los Angeles
2000
Pace/MacGill Gallery, New York
1999
Weinstein Gallery, Minneapolis
Robert Miller gallery, New York
Gallery One, Toronto
Preview IV, Weinstein Gallery, Minneapolis
1998
Weinstein Gallery, New York
St. Paul Companies, St. Paul
1997
Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris
Robert Miller Gallery, New York
Robert Miller Gallery, New York
1994
Conseil Generale de la Nievre, Nevers, France
1991
Galerie Jaques Gordat, Paris
1990
Galerie Urbi et Orbi, Paris
1989
Chicago Art Institute, Chicago
1988
Atelier des Cannettes, Mois de la Photo, Paris
1983
Braathen Fine Arts, New York
1982
Braathen Fine Arts, New York
1981
P. S. 1, Long Island City, New York
1980
Braathen-Gallozzi Gallery, New York
1979
CEPA Gallery, Buffalo, New York
1978
International Center of Photography, New York
1975
Whitney Museum of Art-New Filmakers Program, New York
Bykert Gallery, New York
1975
Bykert Gallery, New York, NY, USA
1970–1975
Anthology Film Archives

Public Collections

Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, FGR
Château de Versailles, Versailles, FR
Colby College, Waterville, ME
First National City Bank, New York, NY
Grinnell College, Grinnell, IA
Instituto Moreira Salles, BR
La Caisse des Depôts et Consignations, Paris, FR
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris, FR
Musée d’art contemporain, Montreal, CA
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX
Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, LA
New York University, New York, NY
Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
The Berman Collection, Los Angeles, LA
The Centre Pompidou, Paris, FR
The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, LA
The Link Group, Chicago, IL
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
The Santander Bank, New York, NY
UBS Art Collection, Zürich, CH
Victoria & Albert Museum, London, UK
Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN
Yale University, New Haven, CT

Literature

2014
Chronophagia: Selected Works 1984-2009, Steidl, Göttingen
2014
Eye & I, Steidl, Göttingen
2008
Parcours Muséologique Revisité, 3 Bde. / 3 vol., Steidl, Göttingen 2008
2006
After The Flood, Photographs by Robert Polidori, Editions Steidl, Gottingen, Germany.
2005
Robert Polidori, (Hrsg. / ed. Thomas Osterkorn und / and Andreas Petzold), Gruner und Jahr, Hamburg 2005
2005
Robert Polidori's Metropolis, Steidl, Göttingen 2005
2004
Heroes of the revolution, Edel Classics, Hamburg 2004
2004
Sperrzonen – Pripjat und Tschernobyl, Text / text: Elizabeth Culbert. Steidl, Göttingen 2004
2004
Robert Polidori’s Metropolis. Photographs by Robert Polidori, text by Robert Polidori and Martin C. Pedersen. Metropolis/D.A.P., New York.
2003
Zones of Exclusion Pripyat and Chernobyl. Photographs by Robert Polidori. Editions Steidl, Gottingen, Germany.
2003
Havana, Steidl, Göttingen 2003
2001
Havana. Photographs by Robert Polidori. Editions Steidl, Gottingen, Germany
Palm Springs Weekend: The Architecture and Design of a Midcentury Oasis. Photographs by Robert Polidori, text by Alan Hess. Chronicle books, San Francisco.
1999
The Levant: History and Archeology in the Eastern Mediterranean. Photographs by Robert Polidori, text by Pierre-Louis Gatier. Konemann Verlag Gesselschaft, Cologne.
1998
La Libye Antique: Cities perdues de L’Empire Romaine. Photographs by Robert Polidori, text by Antonio and Jeanette di Vita. Editions Menges, Paris.
1997
Chateaux de la Loire. Photgraphs by Robert Polidori, text by Jean-Marie Preouse de Montclos. Editions Menges, Paris. Konemann Verlag Gesselschart, Cologne
1997
Sites Greco-Romaines de la Triploitane et Cyrenaique. Photographs by Robert Polidori, text by Antonio and Jeanette di Vita. Editions Menges, Paris. Konemann Verlag Gesselschart, Cologne
1991
Versailles. Photographs by Robert Polidori, text by Jean-Marie Perouse de Monclos. Editions Menges, Paris; Abbeville Press, New York; Edizione Magnus, Milano; Konemann Verlag Gesselschaft, Cologne.