Chromotherapia: The Feel-Good Color Photography

Artists: Miles Aldridge, Erwin Blumenfeld, Guy Bourdin, Juno Calypso, Walter Chandoha, Harold Edgerton, Hassan Hajjaj, Hiro, Ouka Leele, Madame Yevonde, Arnold Odermatt, Ruth Ginika Ossai, Martin Parr, Pierre et Gilles, Alex Prager, Adrienne Raquel, Sandy Skoglund, Toiletpaper (Maurizio Cattelan & Pierpaolo Ferrari), William Wegman

“Chromotherapia: The Feel-Good Color Photography” examines color as both an artistic and expressive force. Curated by Maurizio Cattelan and Sam Stourdzé, the exhibition at Villa Medici (February 28 – June 9, 2025) presents works by 20 photographers.

Color photography has allowed artists to move beyond documentary constraints, engaging with pop art, surrealism, and kitsch. William Wegman’s portraits of Weimaraners, Juno Calypso’s critiques of advertising, and Ouka Leele’s Movida portraits illustrate the diverse ways artists use color to shape their narratives.

From early experiments to the Lumière brothers’ 1907 autochrome, color photography evolved into an essential medium. Arnold Odermatt’s compositions of accident scenes and Walter Chandoha’s images of cats demonstrate its ability to redefine perception.

In the 2010s, Toiletpaper, co-founded by Cattelan and Pierpaolo Ferrari, introduced a surreal and provocative approach to color photography, aligning with the exhibition’s broader themes of excess and visual impact.

“Chromotherapia” explores how color influences perception, transforming images into expressions of identity, culture, and imagination.