Biography

Gianni Cipriano is a photographer and visual storyteller based between Italy and Switzerland. His work focuses on how politics affects lives—the social, economic and cultural impact of political decisions. He has been closely documenting the political upheavals of his native Italy for the past decade, including the twilight of the Berlusconi era and the 2018 national elections that brought populist parties to power.

His documentary work and portraits have appeared regularly in The New York Times, as well as in The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, The Guardian Weekend Magazine, Monocle, Le Monde’s M, Wired, L’Espresso, IL, Vanity Fair, Esquire, El Pais, Stern and Der Spiegel, among others.

Gianni was born in Palermo in 1983 into a family of Italian emigrants and grew up between Brooklyn, Geneva and Palermo. After studying aerospace engineering and architecture, he turned to photography, and graduated from the Documentary Photography and Photojournalism Program at the International Center of Photography in New York.

His work has been recognized with awards from POYI (Picture of the Year International), American Photography, New York Photo Awards, International Photography Awards and the Ian Parry Scholarship, an international documentary photography scholarship for young photographers. It has also appeared in group exhibitions at Rome’s MAXXI museum, the Rencontres d’Arles photo festival, FOLI Lima Biennale of Photography, MOPLA and the Lumix Festival for Young Photojournalism, among others.

He is trilingual in English, Italian and French and is available for editorial and commercial assignments worldwide.

+ Publications & Clients

Editorial

The New York Times
The Wall Street Journal
Time
Wired
Medium
Le Monde M - Le Magazine du Monde
Libération
The Guardian Weekend Magazine
FT Magazine / The Financial Times
Monocle
El Pais
L’Espresso
Internazionale
D Repubblica
Io Donna
IL
Rolling Stone Italy
Touring Magazine
Stern
Der Spiegel
ADAC
De Volkskrant
Saveur

Commercial
Airbnb
CAM Sugar
Dolce & Gabbana
Fendi

+ Exhibitions

2019 - Gibellina Photoroad 2019, Gibellina, Italy. "Perfect"
2018 - 18 Esplorazioni, Eglise, Palermo, Italy. "Where is my brother?"
2016 - LUMIX Festival for Young Photojournalism, Hannover, Germany. “Politico” 2016 - Extraordinary Visions / L’Italia, MAXXI, Rome. “Politico”
2015 - Perugia Social Photo Fest, Perugia, Italy. “Phone Photography”
2015 - Complesso del Vittoriano, Rome. “L’Espresso – La nostra storia”
2015 - Centro Italiano della Fotografia d’Autore, Bibbiena, Italy “Phone Photography”
2014 - Ying Ang & Gianni Cipriano Showcase, Le Petit Oiseau Va Sortir, Paris
2014 - The Eyes Collection #1, Galerie Intervalle, Paris. “Perfect”
2013 - Getxophoto 2013 Photo Festival, Getxo, Spain. “Perfect”
2013 - Extraspazio gallery, Rome. “Paradise Now”
2013 - Images Singulières photo festival, Gare SNCF, Sète, France. “Perfect”
2012 - Rita K. Hillman Education Gallery, International Center of Photography, New York. “Strike Anywhere”
2012 - Ragusa Fotofestival, Ragusa, Italy. “Perfect”
2012 - Atelier Reflexions Masterclass 2002-2012 – Une aventure artistique, Les Rencontres d’Arles, Arles, France
2012 - Winephoto Festival, Mogliano Veneto, Italy. “Limbo”
2012 - neu [nòi], Palermo, Italy. “15”, solo exhibition
2011 - FOLI, Lima Biennale of Photography, Peru. “Siciliae”
2011 - Pro’jekt LA, MOPLA, Month of Photography, Los Angeles. “Perfect”
2011 - Galleria BelVedere, Milan. “Vietato! I limiti che cambiano la fotografia”
2011 - Galleria X3, Palermo, Italy. “‘Round New York”
2011 - fsmgallery, Fondazione Studio Marangoni, Florence, Italy. “Vietato! I limiti che cambiano la fotografia“
2011 - Circolo Fotocine, Castelnuovo di Garfagnana, Italy. “Vietato! I limiti che cambiano la fotografia“
2010 - International Center of Photography, New York. “What We Saw: Dialects”
2010 - Copenhagen Photo Festival, Denmark. “Where Beauty Softens Your Grief”
2010 - Lumix Multimedia Award Exhibition, Design Center Hochschule, Hannover, Germany. “Where Beauty Softens Your Grief”
2010 - American Photography 26 Show, Angel Orensanz Foundation, New York
2009 - Les Visas de l’Association Nationale Iconographes, Floréal Gallery, Paris. “Where Beauty Softens Your Grief”
2009 - American Photography 25 Show, Angel Orensanz Foundation, New York
2008 - Pingyao International Photography Festival, China. “Where Beauty Softens Your Grief”
2008 - Ian Parry Scholarship Show, Getty Images Gallery, London. “Where Beauty Softens Your Grief”
2008 - Reflect 2008: The International Center of Photography 2007-2008 full-time student exhibition, ICP Gallery, New York
2008 - They Got Exposed: The Image ’08 Show Winners of the American Society of Media Photographers of New York contest, Fastback Creative Books Gallery, New York
2008 - American Photography 24 Show, Angel Orensanz Foundation, New York

+ Awards & Recognitions

2016 - Flash Forward 2016, The Magenta Foundation. Honorable Mention
2016 - Lumix Freelens Award. Selected Artist 2016 - American Photography 32. Chosen Artist
2012 - MOPLA, Month of Photography, Los Angeles. Pro’jekt LA. Selected artist
2012 - Joop Swart Masterclass, World Press Photo. Finalist in 2009, * 2011 and 2012
2011 - WinePhoto Exhibition. Mogliano Veneto, Italy. Selected artist
2010 - American Photography 26. Selected artist
2010 - Hannover Festival for Young Photojournalism. Lumix Multimedia Award. Finalist
2010 - Photo District New’s 30 Photographers to Watch. Nomination
2009 - American Photography. Selected artist
2009 - Picture Of The Year International (POYI). First Place Multimedia Feature
2009 - New York Photo Awards. Honorable Mention for Short Film/Video
2009 - Premio Fotografico. Italian Association of Professional Photographers. Emerging Talent Honorable Mention
2009 - Photo District New’s 30 Photographers to Watch. Nomination
2008 - Director’s Fellowship, International Center of Photography, New York
2008 - Visas de l’Association Nationale des Iconographes. Winner
2008 - Reportage by Getty Images. Selected Emerging Talent
2008 - Photo District New’s 30 Photographers to Watch. Nomination
2008 - Ian Parry Scholarship. Highly Commended
2008 - American Photography 24. Selected artist
2008 - Editorial Photographers Student Contest, Winner
2008 - Visual Culture Awards. Bronze prize and award of excellence
2008 - American Society of Media Photographers. Honorable Mention
2008 - International Photography Awards. Honorable Mention in Deeper Perspective category
2008 - International Photography Awards. 2 Honorable Mentions in Editorial Photo Essay category