Diversity and Community: 50 Years of Photographic Works by Vincenzo Pietropaolo

Presented with James Rottman Fine Art and as part of CONTACT Photography Festival

The exhibition consists of works spanning fifty years from the artist’s work, including many inspired by his upcoming book, Toronto as Community. This body of work chronicles the daily lives of ordinary residents of the city, the evolution of labour and social issues, working class culture and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Concurrently, additional photographs will also be displayed at the Italian Cultural Institute on Huron Street.

Mixing his photographs and original writing, Vincenzo Pietropaolo has distinguished himself as a photographic bookmaker. He has produced extensive photo essays on workers across Canada, seasonal migrant farm workers from Mexico, and the Caribbean, cities in Italy, religious ritual, architecture, historical preservation, and a variety of social justice issues such as refugees, disadvantaged youth, and people with disabilities. He is particularly interested in cities, and has spent considerable time documenting street life and architecture in Toronto, New York City, Havana, Mexico City, and several cities in Italy. In a major feature of his work, Canadian Geographic Magazine called him “one of Canada’s pre-eminent documentary photographers”. His work has been featured in about 100 solo and group exhibitions, across North America, South America, and Europe.

Established in 1995, James Rottman Fine Art is specializes in the representation and sale of important 20th Century Canadian historical, post-war, and contemporary artworks.

Established in 1997, CONTACT is a not-for-profit organization celebrating the art and profession of photography. In both its annual Festival and in its year-round programming, CONTACT recognizes the significance of photography within all aspects of contemporary life, and the creative possibilities it envisions for the past, present, and future.