Italian photographer and director of photography Ugo Lo Pinto announces a striking new exhibition, “Apparenze e Apparizioni” (Apparitions and Apparitions), offered by the Società Storica Catanese in Catania, Sicily, Italy. The show runs from November 7 to November 30, 2025, at the Society’s historic venue on Etnea, in the noble floor of a centuries-old palazzo.
Lo Pinto’s practice defies simple categorization, merging a deep cinematic sensibility with a painterly approach to light, memory, and presence. The works on view—five fine-art photographs created as part of a larger, ongoing project—continue his exploration of the space between visible reality and its shadow: a meditation on how perception is shaped by time, memory, and inner vision.
Lo Pinto’s path straddles engineering, cinema, and fine art. Originating from the Basilicata, he began in adolescence and pursued mechanical engineering at Federico II University in Naples before turning toward photography in both advertising and fashion. He later studied at the Nuova Università di Cinema e Televisione in Rome, where his education culminated in an Attestato di Direttore della Fotografia under the guidance of celebrated figures including Michelangelo Antonioni. His career expanded across the film sets where he worked as a camera operator, steadicam operator, and director of photography, collaborating with renowned mentors such as Pino Pinori, Maurizio Calvesi, Tarek Ben Abdallah, Sergio Salvati, and Roberto Forges Davanzati.
The artist’s dialogue with Neorealism and the Nouvelle Vague is central to his practice. Luciano Emmer, an influential figure associated with Rosa Neorealism and the Nouvelle Vague, mentored Lo Pinto’s artistic growth, guiding his interpretation of light, form, and environment. In his latest bodies of work, including Apparenze and Apparizioni, Lo Pinto negotiates a space where the visible and the invisible illuminate one another, turning photography into a contemplative act and a spiritual inquiry.
The exhibition presents a concise, five-piece selection drawn from a broader practice that treats photography as a vehicle for memory, presence, and interior vision. Lo Pinto’s images are characterized by a poetic synthesis of light and shadow, where subjects—people, places, and objects—emerge as echoes of a past and as resonant signs of what is perceived beyond immediate perception. These photographs act as a contemporary “logopatia” (a fusion of logos and pathos), where reason, form, and emotion intertwine in a nuanced dialogue with the gaze.
The project aligns with the SSC’s mission to defend and valorize regional and artistic heritage while fostering dialogue between memory and contemporary expression. The accompanying catalog, produced by MTS Edizioni, anchors the show within a broader panorama of Italian cultural life and underlines Lo Pinto’s standing as a photographer who bridges cinematic sensitivity with the contemplative discipline of still image making.
This exhibition is presented within a programmatic frame that emphasizes accessibility and public engagement. The venue’s scale and lighting allow for an intimate encounter with the images, encouraging viewers to dwell on the tonalities, textures, and inferred narratives suggested by the prints.
Lo Pinto continues to experiment at the intersection of photography, cinema, and visual anthropology. The current show sits within a sustained trajectory that includes collaborations with editorial and cultural institutions and a practice that remains attentive to light, memory, and the poetics of presence. Future projects referenced in the press kit include historical film collaborations and cross-border partnerships, underscoring his ongoing commitment to telling visually charged stories that resonate with both memory and current sensibility.
Photo credits: Belong to the artist
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