Archivio Ballo+Ballo

From the 1950s to today, Aldo Ballo and Marirosa Toscani Ballo have brought the Ballo photography studio to life. The studio remains a key point of reference for many designers within a most fascinating and vibrant period for the sector. After Aldo Ballo’s death in 1994, work continued thanks to the commitment of Marirosa Toscani Ballo.
Aulenti, Boeri, Vigo, Sottsass, Castiglioni, Rossi, Bellini, Starck are some of the names of those who chose the Ballo Studio for its professionalism, elegance and creativity. Many of their photographs have entered the collective imagination and represent truly iconic images.

To audiences, the ballo+ballo Archive tells the story of a project, a group, a laboratory where ideas flourish and a complex hive of images.
Reconstructing the studio and evoking the atmosphere of a working environment at the same time on the one hand, and providing an authentic exhibition on the other, allows audiences to explore an extraordinary professional pathway and offers them the opportunity to understand the dynamics of a place where photos were taken as ideas formed and images were created.
This is at the heart of Aldo Ballo’s philosophy: "I don’t take art photos or pictures that hang from walls; here we create industrial photography and go inside an object: we interpret it and give its soul back."
The Ballo Studio collaborated with the Rinascente between 1955 and 1971 and, in particular, with the Centro Design, founded by Augusto Morello and directed by Mario Cristiani.

The selection presented here comprises of 25 images chosen to illustrate the close collaborative relationship between the Ballo photography studio and the Rinascente, mainly photographs and still life images for advertising purposes (posters, fashion features and newspaper announcements).

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