MONACO — In a world where the transient and the momentary reign over our visual landscape, Massimo Listri emerges as a rare guardian of the timeless. His photographs — expansive, exacting, and steeped in an evocative stillness — seize the essence of spaces abandoned by the passage of years. From April 9 to May 9, 2025, Moretti Fine Art in Monaco will present Massimo Listri. Fotografie, an exhibition poised to draw viewers into the reflective realm of this Italian photographer. Set within the refined confines of the gallery’s Park Palace location at 27 Avenue de la Costa, the display will honor the elegance, meticulousness, and profound spirituality that distinguish Listri’s extraordinary craft.
Born in 1953, Listri has spent over three decades traversing the globe, from the hushed chambers of the Vatican to the regal halls of German and Italian palaces. His work is not merely a record of architecture but a profound exploration of its emotional resonance. At seventeen, his photographs were already gracing the pages of prestigious art and architecture journals. By 1981, he had founded FMR, a magazine that would become an internationally revered platform for his photographic essays. Since then, his prolific career has yielded more than fifty volumes documenting historic palaces, villas, and private residences — a testament to his relentless pursuit of spaces that whisper history.
Listri’s images are far more than technical feats, though his mastery of large-format negatives, natural light, and long exposures is undeniable. Each frame is a symphony of light and shadow, a visual meditation on presence and absence. As Charles Baudelaire once wrote, “The true travelers are those who leave just to leave.” Listri embodies this restless spirit, not through physical wandering but by distilling the essence of the places he encounters. His lens reveals the invisible stories etched into abandoned villas near Turin, the eerie corridors of Montelupo’s criminal asylum, or the faded grandeur of Germany’s Schwetzingen Castle. These are not mere interiors; they are vessels of memory, nostalgia, and solitude.
There is a poetic immobility to Listri’s work, reminiscent of the Danish painter Vilhelm Hammershøi’s quiet interiors, though Listri’s approach is distinctly his own. His compositions suspend time, placing viewers in a liminal space where history lingers like a palpable presence. In this way, his photographs evoke the final, haunting scene of Giuseppe Tornatore’s The Best Offer, where a once-thriving gallery stands desolate — a poignant reflection on the fragility of possession and the inexorable march of time. For Listri, abandonment is not just a physical state but a psychological one, a theme he explores with unflinching depth.
His process is as deliberate as his vision. A collector of antiques and a devotee of interior design and art history, Listri brings an almost reverential focus to his craft. The result is an oeuvre that transcends documentation, offering instead a contemplative experience that invites viewers to linger. His work is neither sentimental nor nostalgic; it is a rigorous study of how spaces absorb and retain the echoes of human life, even in their emptiness.
The forthcoming exhibition at Moretti Fine Art is a fitting tribute to Listri’s lifelong passion for architectural photography. Housed in the gallery’s Monte-Carlo space, the show will feature a selection of his most evocative works, each a testament to his ability to transform the mundane into the sublime. The vernissage, set for Wednesday, April 9, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., will offer an intimate introduction to the exhibition, with regular hours from Monday to Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., ensuring ample opportunity for visitors to immerse themselves in Listri’s world.
In an age of relentless motion, Massimo Listri offers a rare gift: the chance to pause, to reflect, and to see the beauty in what remains. Massimo Listri. Fotografie is not just an exhibition; it is an invitation to journey through time, guided by the unflinching eye of one of our era’s most remarkable photographers.
Massimo Listri. Fotografie runs from April 9 to May 9, 2025, at Moretti Gallery, 27 Avenue de la Costa, Monaco. For more information, visit morettigallery.com or contact monaco@morettigallery.com.